Shore
by LavenderSkies
Summary: Takes place after the season 2 finale. By orders of Fire Lord Ozai, Iroh is to be beheaded. Determined to return the favor, Aang is prepared to rescue. But what will Zuko do? This is a story about the banished prince trying to find his way.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Sitting on a small raft, he floated in the middle of a vast ocean. No matter which direction he looked, there was no land in sight. He was alone in the midst of an eerie silence. Without wind, the raft was not moving. He was getting nowhere…_

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes and sighed. He didn't sleep well again despite the fact that he had slept in the most comfortable bed with the highest quality silk sheets the Earth Kingdom had to offer. He was living in the palace of Ba Sing Se after all. How long has it been since he was last surrounded by such luxury? Nonetheless, none of it gave him much comfort. 

It took effort just to drag himself out of bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he went over to the window and drew back the curtains. The sun shone brightly and the sky was as blue as can be. However, nature's beauty was completely lost on him, for although his eyes looked out the window, Zuko was focused on the thoughts within. _Today's the day…_

It's been a week since he aided Azula in the takeover of this city. A week since he had redeemed himself. And this is the day, by orders of Fire Lord Ozai, that Iroh was to be beheaded for his acts of treason.

* * *

In the huge square just outside the palace, at the base of the long stairway leading to the palace doors, a temporary stage had been set. On a normal day, this area would be closed to the public. Today, however, was a special occasion. The gates of the outer palace walls were opened, and the citizens of the great city of Ba Sing Se were permitted to gather and witness the shameful death of the Dragon of the West. 

Standing in the midst of the crowd, he pulled the hood of his cloak over his forehead some more to ensure the tattoo on his head remained hidden. Aang knew full well how dangerous it was for him to be here. He had only barely been able to escape with his life the last time, all thanks to Iroh. If Iroh hadn't stepped in, he…and most likely Katara as well…would have died that night in the crystal caves. There's no way he could just walk away and leave Iroh here to die. Aang was determined to return the favor. Much to his relief, his friends all agreed with him on the matter.

He looked around to make sure he didn't lose sight of Toph or Katara who were also hiding amongst the crowd. While Katara had taken up position not too far from the stage, Toph, like himself, was further back and more towards the middle of all the people. It was just the three of them this time. Sokka was charged with the task of taking the Earth King to the Northern Water Tribe for protection. They had hoped he would be back in time for this, but luck wasn't on their side.

At the top of the stairway to the palace doors, Azula sat leisurely on the throne. She had it brought out for her just for this event. After all, it wasn't everyday she gets to display her ruthless strength by overseeing the beheading of her own traitorous uncle. She intended for this to be an example to the world. Anyone who crosses the Fire Nation will suffer the consequences, no matter who they were.

Before long, Iroh, shackled at the wrists, was brought out to the stage and forced into a kneeling position. The crowd hushed as the executioner took his position behind the retired general. With both hands on the hilt, he raised his sword high above his head. However, before he had a chance to swing it down, the executioner felt a searing pain in his own hand, forcing him to drop his sword and yell out in pain. When he looked, he was horrified to find that an ice dagger had pierced through his hand. Katara had made her move.

Toph immediately sprung into action, bending a sizable chunk of earth into the air then slamming it back into the ground, crumbling it to create a cloud of dust. Aang, his cloak now shed, leaped into the air and used airbending to spread the cloud over the entire square as cover. Mass panic ensued as people scrambled and screamed. The condition was perfect.

Using his glider, Aang made his way over to Iroh while Toph and Katara held off all surrounding guards who were actually lucky…or unlucky…enough to make it through the crazed crowd. The girls made short work of their opponents. Most were launched into the air via Toph's earthbending to land in the manmade waterway running through the square where they'd be frozen in place by Katara.

Azula watched as the chaos unfolded before her, not in the least bit surprised. In fact, she had been waiting. Raising her arm up in the air, she gave her signal.

At that, Mai, Ty Lee, and a number of Yu Yan archers appeared at various points atop the outer palace walls, effectively surrounding the entire square. As soon as the Avatar jumped onto the stage, the two girls issued their orders for the archers to fire. Arrows planted themselves all around Aang's feet, coming from every direction. Even through the dust and distance, the archers' aim was _that_ close.

As Aang made his way to Iroh, dodging and deflecting arrows, another figure suddenly jumped onto the stage out of nowhere. It was the Blue Spirit. The two stood frozen in a moment of shock and recognition as they caught each other's eye. Then the young monk noticed something slightly different about the other. _His mask is green?_

Aang didn't have much time, however, to contemplate on that minor detail as the rain of arrows around them quickly brought him back to the task at hand. _Blue or green, it is definitely "him" under there._ "Cutting shackles is more your specialty. I'll fend them off."

With a pair of broad swords drawn in his hands, the Blue Spirit merely nodded, and they went about their tasks. Aang deflected all incoming arrows with the airbending-enhanced swings of his staff. Unfortunately, it also cleared up much of the dust cloud surrounding the stage.

When Azula saw Iroh being cut free by the Blue Spirit, she decided it was time for her to intervene. Getting into her stance, the princess called forth her deadly lightning and aimed it at the Avatar.

Katara heard the sizzling sound of electricity before she saw it. In that panicking split second, fearing the recurrence of a not-too-distant past, all she could do was scream the boy's name. "AANG!!"

The young monk barely had time to react when the Blue Spirit stepped in. Absorbing the lightning with one sword, he channeled the energy through his body then whirled around just in time to point his other sword up towards the palace as the lightning rushed out.

There was an explosion as the lightning struck and chunks of the palace walls and roof collapsed. Nearby guards scattered and Azula retreated back into the palace, only to be trapped within by the fallen rubble.

Just then, Katara spotted Appa as the flying bison swooped in from above. She pushed through the frantic crowd to get to her friend. "Toph! Sokka's here. Take us up!"

"About time," the blind earthbender complained. Then with a stomp on the ground, the two girls were raised thirty feet up atop a stone pillar. Spotting them immediately, Appa came and they jumped into the saddle.

"Took you long enough!" Katara yelled at her brother.

"Give me a break! The North Pole isn't exactly around the corner!" Sokka tossed something to his sister. "Here's your refill."

Katara caught it and smiled as she hung it around her neck. It was her pendant, now replenished with more water from the Spirit Oasis. "Thanks!"

Sokka steered Appa over to the stage where Aang and the Blue Spirit immediately helped Iroh get on. Aang then jumped on himself and turned to give the Blue Spirit a hand, only to see the masked man bolting off in the opposite direction. Without thinking, Aang leaped off to pursue.

"Aang!" Sokka called after him. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"Head out! I"ll meet up with you later! And watch out for those archers!" With that, the boy disappeared into the crowd.

"What do we do?" Katara asked with concern.

The Water Tribe boy sighed in exasperation. "We have to move. Appa, yip yip!"

* * *

It was a long, LONG chase through the upper, middle, and lower rings of Ba Sing Se, fending off guards at various points in time. Aang thought it a miracle he never lost sight of his target. Somewhere along they way, they'd managed to make it out of the inner as well as the outer walls surrounding this great city. Now they found themselves running through a forest. 

The young airbender clutched the fabric at his chest as breathing became difficult and his lungs began to hurt. Even though Katara had healed the near fatal wound Azula had given him with water from the Spirit Oasis, it will take more time and rest for a full recovery. As he was now, overexertion takes a toll. He knew it was impossible for him to catch up, so he did the only thing he could…

"ZUKO!!"

The masked man stopped in his tracks. For a moment, he remained still. Then slowly, he removed his mask and turned his head slightly but would not meet the boy's eyes.

Seeing that Zuko wasn't going to run, Aang slumped to the ground and tried to catch his breath. To his surprise, the prince spoke.

"He's an old man, but also one of the best benders alive. Take care of him, and I'm sure he can provide you with something you require."

Suddenly, it dawned on Aang what Zuko's intentions were. But this only led to a whole string of other questions. "What about you? What are you going to do? Aren't you still out to get me? If you leave your uncle in my care, then what—"

"I got what I wanted," Zuko cut him off. "I won't bother you anymore, but you should be aware of Azula. Just do me a favor…don't tell him it was me."

Aang frowned in confusion. "Why?"

_Because I don't deserve any credit…I can never make amends._ Zuko said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself as he began to walk away.

"If you really got what you wanted, why do you look like the world just came to an end?" the younger boy asked in a barely audible voice. Then he perked up as a though came to him. "Um…hey, Zuko! Remember the question I asked you the first time you came as the Blue Spirit? You never gave me an answer."

With his back still turned, the older boy replied, "You should stop dwelling on pointless things. This isn't a hundred years ago. And with any luck, it will be best for the both of us if our paths never cross again." With that, Zuko left.

Aang got back up to his feet. Sadly, he turned and retraced his steps.

* * *

It was now late evening, and Aang finally made it back to his group who had set up camp in the forest somewhere on the other side of Ba Sing Se. Everyone was seated around the campfire when the boy approached. 

Sokka jumped to his feet, relieved to see his friend return unharmed. "Aang! So, did you find that Blue Spirit guy?"

Aang shook his head, depression written all over his face. "No."

"Ah. The masked man with the swords, correct?" Iroh inquired.

Katara nodded. "He saved Aang's life once, but this is the first time the rest of us has seen him." She frowned in thought. "I wonder who he is?"

Aang averted his eyes.

Iroh stroked his beard, taking in the conversation. "I see… I shall have to thank him one day. But first, please allow me to show you my gratitude." Clasping his right hand over his left fist, he bowed his head. "Thank you, young Avatar, for saving this old man's life today."

Aang responded in kind. "That's not necessary. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. I should be thanking you."

"In any case, we like you, Wise Guy," Toph added with a smile. Then she stood up and stretched her arms out. "Well, I'm beat. I think I'll turn in early." With that, she wandered off to find a nice smooth spot to pitch her earth tent.

The Water Tribe siblings soon followed her example and headed off to get some much-needed sleep.

Aang ate his dinner with Iroh keeping him company. They conversed about various trivial things with subjects ranging from 'how Aang found Momo' to 'what makes a good cup of tea.' Now that he was finally able to get a good look at Iroh, Aang noticed how much slimmer and fatigued this whole ordeal has left him. He may be powerful, but at his age, the hardships of imprisonment must have been more difficult to endure. Not to mention the additional emotional burden of being betrayed by the one he cared most about.

Aang's thoughts drifted back to the things Zuko said in the forest that day. "What do you plan to do, sir? We can certainly drop you off somewhere if there's a place you'd like to go. But I think it would be best if we stayed together since the Fire Nation is after all of us."

Iroh nodded. "That would indeed seem wise. If you and your companions will have me, I have no objections."

"We'd love to have you! Toph, especially." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "As a matter of fact…I still need a firebending teacher. Would you be willing to teach me?"

The old firebender contemplated. "What will your course of action be from here on, may I ask?"

Iroh listened intently as Aang explained everything about the comet, the solar eclipse, and his time constraints. Then stroking his beard, he thought it over some more before finally giving his reply. "I understand the urgency you're faced with. But…if you would indulge this old man…there is another I would like to recommend for the task. Please give me three weeks' time. If this individual still doesn't…come around by then, I will fulfill that part for you. You have my word." He bowed his head slightly to show his sincerity.

It didn't take long for the boy to figure out who this "another" person had to be. _So, he forgave Zuko's betrayal and hopes still for his return…_

Aang thought about his own feelings and how he, too, had harbored some sliver of hope that the banished prince would be the one to teach him firebending. The fact that Zuko was there at the South Pole the very day he was released from the iceberg, deep down, Aang had always felt that it had meant something. It was more than just coincidence. Of course, their countless hostile encounters had served rather well in changing his mind on the matter, but he would be lying if he said his hope didn't return the night Zuko saved him from Zhou's clutches, no matter how selfish his reasons were for doing so. Then with everything that's happened since, especially at the fall of Ba Sing Se, he figured that was it. He'd simply been delusional.

But running into Zuko again that day, Aang felt something was…different somehow. He couldn't quite explain it. Perhaps it was just instinct? In truth, he had wanted to ask the prince to come with them. It was why he chased him so relentlessly. But after hearing Zuko's parting words about never wanting to cross paths with him again, Aang knew he would only be ridiculed if he asked. Now that he thought about it, he realized how silly it was. Why would Zuko take him up on his offer now that he had a place with the Fire Nation again?

After a long, drawn out silence, the young monk sighed dejectedly. "I, too, have been hoping…"

Iroh looked from the boy up to the stars. "It is all we can do."

* * *

A/N: Hi all! I actually started working on this story a while ago, but I wanted to make sure it would go somewhere before I upload anything. I currently have 40+ typed pages of notes outlining the whole thing. So, I figured it's probably safe to start writing it out now. LOL! Hope you like! Reviews appreciated. Many thanks for reading! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

All Zuko wanted now was to return to the Fire Nation. Return home. That was all he could think about as he walked through the grand halls of Ba Sing Se's palace.

He didn't want any part of this war. He hated it and wished it would come to an end. However, actively striving for its end would mean going against his father. As a son, he couldn't bring himself to do that. But having seen and experienced all the suffering first hand, taking part in the conquest would leave an equally foul taste in his mouth. He would be betraying his heart.

Then again, why should he care? He got what he wanted…didn't he? If he could just go home, maybe he can get away from it all. Since Azula had assured him his honor's been restored, he will do just that.

He stopped outside his sister's chamber door, hoping to speak with her on the matter and express his wish to leave as soon as possible. Raising his hand, he was about to knock when he heard Mai's voice from inside the room.

"So, what will you do now that General Iroh's escaped?" came her eternally monotone voice.

Interested, Zuko leaned closer to the door that's been left ajar and listened in.

"We'll just have to follow," the princess replied calmly.

Inside the room, Azula was sitting at her desk with a brush in hand, writing a report to the Fire Lord. It's never enjoyable to have to detail out a failed attempt, but it was of no real consequence. After all, she'd already devised a new course of action.

Mai, who was sitting on the desk, absentmindedly tossed a knife in her hand to pass the time as she watched her friend work with disinterest. "Aren't you worried? You're writing home with bad news. The Fire Lord won't be pleased, even if it is you."

"It's only a minor setback," Azula said, seemingly unconcerned. "Besides, I still have my brother."

Mai caught her knife and turned to look at Azula with a slightly raised brow. "Zuko? What do you mean?"

Azula shrugged lightly as she dipped her brush into the ink and continued to write. "I was actually expecting him to come to my uncle's rescue more than the Avatar. I'm surprised he didn't show yesterday. He's more of a coward than I thought."

"Well…what about that masked man? Could he…?"

The princess could hardly suppress her laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Mai. That man redirected my lightning with ease. Zuzu can't even dream of such skill."

"But if you didn't think he was any good, why did you bother asking for his help that day?"

"I just thought I could use an extra firebender for the battle was all. As untalented as he is, it was still more advantageous to have him fighting with me than against me."

Mai leaned back on one hand while resuming her knife tossing with the other, seemingly bored with the conversation already. "So I take it you never really intended to give Zuko what he wanted, did you?"

Finished with her task, Azula put down her brush and looked up at her friend, smirking ever so slightly. "It's not mine to give. You know as well as I do how Father feels about him. Poor boy thinks he can somehow regain Father's love and trust, but never realized he never had it to begin with." Leaning back into her chair, she placed her elbows on the armrests and laced her fingers together in a more relaxed position as she briefly pondered about her foolish brother. "Well, since our plan didn't quite work out yesterday, I'll let Zuzu believe in his little dream a while longer. Once we have my uncle and the Avatar, it will be a bit of a rude awakening when I bring all three of them back to the Fire Nation."

The perpetually gloomy girl sighed. "Well, as long as you give me something better to do. This city's starting to bore me now that we've already taken over."

Azula chuckled lightly as she got to her feet. "You needn't worry. I'll keep you well entertained." After giving Mai a pat on the shoulder, she headed for the door so she could go do some training.

A burst of flames greeted her when she opened the door. Though surprised, her quick reflexes saved her from harm as she nimbly evaded with a series of back flips. When she got back to her feet and the flames extinguished, she found it was her brother who stood at her door, completely livid.

"I should have known better than to trust you, Azula!" Zuko spat, the anger pulsing through him.

Azula all but smirked in her infuriatingly calm manner. "Yes, you should have. But you were always too stupid to do what you should."

Enraged, Zuko unleashed another stream of flames before his sister could have the chance to do so first. When Azula dodged the attack, this time Zuko did the smart thing: he ran.

The firebending prodigy was about to give chase when her friend slipped past her.

"I'll get him," Mai said as she left the room and disappeared down the halls after the prince.

* * *

Zuko never thought he'd be running the Ba Sing Se marathon two days in a row. His legs were still sore from all that running the day before! At least this time he didn't have to fight off the guards since he was dressed as Zuko, ally of the Fire Nation princess (so everyone believed), and not the Blue Spirit, ally of the Avatar (so everyone believed).

It didn't escape his notice that Mai was on his tail. He was somewhat relieved it was her and not Azula, but he also knew better than to underestimate his sister's childhood friend. Though not a firebender, Mai was skilled. The fact that they'd already made it out of the city and she was still following closely behind was proof enough of her physical endurance. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but wonder why she never once shouted out for any of the guards to apprehend him. It was the logical thing to do and certainly would have made things a lot easier for her, not that he was complaining. _Seems she enjoys the thrill of the hunt._

The banished prince found himself racing through the woods once more. This time, however, he was in a much denser part of the forest filled with towering trees that had foliage so thick it blocked out most of the sun's rays. Their overgrown roots snaking across the entire forest bed hindered his speed while the many rope-like vines hanging down from the branches kept getting in his way. As Zuko made his way through nature's obstacle course, he realized a bit too late that it was a bad idea to take this path.

Before he could despair too much, however, Zuko saw the light. Literally. Not too far ahead, the forest was about to come to an end. Putting on some more speed, he climbed and jumped over the last few "hurdles," leaped into the freedom of open space, and suddenly put on the brakes with a sharp inhale of his breath.

It was true the forest did indeed end here, but then so did the ground. No more than a few feet away was the edge of a rather steep looking cliff. Yes, it most definitely was a bad idea to come this way.

"Damn it!" _Time for a change of tactics!_

Zuko whirled around and got into fighting stance.

Moments later, Mai burst out of the foliage. But instead of making her exit at ground level like Zuko expected, she jumped off a tree branch and came from up high, catching him off guard. With a swift and graceful swing of her arm, a string of knives pierced the earth at his feet, forcing him to leap back. As soon as his feet touched the ground again, another string of knives came forth. Then another. And another.

Before he knew it, Zuko was backed to the cliff's edge. He tried to maintain his balance but, in his heart, he knew he'd already fallen into her trap.

Mai rushed at him with full force and gave him one solid punch in the gut, effectively sending him off the edge to plunge into the sea of trees below. Pulling out three more knives hidden within the folds of her garments, she sent the weapons chasing after him.

The blades missed Zuko, though just barely. They caught his right sleeve, however, and pinned him to the trunk of a tree. He hung there briefly, about ten feet off the ground, before gravity took hold and dragged his body the rest of the way down, ripping the sleeve of his shirt in the process.

Zuko sat up and coughed. He'd always known Mai to be an expert with weapons, but he never expected her to pack that much of a punch! Placing a hand over his stomach, he tried to soothe the pulsing pain when he realized there was something inside the folds of his shirt.

Reaching in, he pulled out the mysterious items: a crumpled piece of paper and a small embroidered black pouch. Zuko frowned as he unfolded the piece of paper, wondering what it could be. His eyes widened by a fraction when he read the short and seemingly hastily scribbled note. It simply said, "They went south." Inside the pouch, he found gold pieces enough to tie him over for a good while.

Zuko looked back up to the top of the cliff. "Mai…" Unconsciously, he placed his hand over the ripped fabric of his shirt. _She broke my fall on purpose._

Knowing better than to waste precious time, he pulled himself out of his thoughts and onto his feet. Once he found his bearings, he took off, leaving the city of Ba Sing Se behind to embark on a new journey southward.

Up on top of the cliff, Mai watched the prince's retreating form, an unreadable expression on her face. When her eyes could no longer track him, she spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"Good luck."

* * *

_He found himself floating on the silent and calm ocean once more when out of nowhere storm clouds gathered overhead, turning the sky gray. The winds picked up and rain began to pour. As thunder sounded above, the sea grew violent. He struggled to stay afloat, but his efforts were futile. The force of the indomitable waves overturned his raft, tossing him into the sea…_

* * *

Zuko woke up, finding it painful to even move. Every muscle in his body ached from overexertion. On top of that, he had spent the night in a cave. His bed of dirt and pointy rocks was hardly comfortable. But despite the discomfort, he wouldn't have minded sleeping an entire day in this backbreaking bed. His body certainly needed the rest. Regrettably, he didn't have the luxury to just lie around all day. He had some catching up to do after all.

After leaving Ba Sing Se the previous day, he stopped at the first town he came across and bought some supplies, a change of clothes, and an ostrich horse, which he left tied to a tree overnight. After untying and mounting the beast, he took to the road and was on his way.

As he traveled, Zuko wondered why he headed south without question. Mai could have lied. It might be a trap. He frowned as he mulled that over. No. That made no sense. She had him. What would be the point of sending him off just to catch him again?

Then again…why should it matter if she lied about which way the Avatar went? It wasn't like he wanted to follow…was it? But why? To resume his quest of capturing the boy? Should he dare to hope that bringing back the Avatar now would change his father's mind?

Zuko laughed humorlessly at that thought. After everything that had happened, to still believe in that would be too naïve. He had already been naïve for much too long. In truth, he had known from the start that his father never meant for him to succeed when he sent him off to search for the Avatar. He just didn't want to recognize it, stubbornly going about the task that had been set for him, if only to keep himself from thinking about it. But to hear Azula put it into words, to hear her say their father did not love him, was somehow like cementing that elusive thought into fact. Suddenly, it was so clear. His father didn't care for him. Bringing back the Avatar would do nothing for him.

So, if he wasn't going to capture the boy, then why was he following? Was it just out of habit? _Oh, great. I've been reduced to following the Avatar to pass time?_ Or did he actually want to join him? The latter seemed even more ludicrous.

Nonetheless, Zuko continued south.

* * *

A/N: My original goal was to finish this story before the season three premiere, but that's rather unrealistic at this point. Now my revised goal is to hopefully finish before season three gets too far along. Many thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated. Hope you liked! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"I can't believe those two!" Katara huffed as she stomped down the dirt path.

Aang trailed behind the waterbender, careful not to get too close. There was no question he adored her, but he knew when to keep his distance. Now was one of those times.

The group had set up camp in the woods somewhere not too far away, and Aang and Katara were currently on their way to a nearby village to buy some much-needed supplies. Toph was being her usual aloof self and didn't want to come along. Sokka was being his usual I'm-a-man-and-grocery-shopping-is-a-woman's-task self and opted to go hunting instead. So in the end, Aang was the only one who came with Katara.

"Toph probably just wants to stay close to Iroh in case anything happens," the boy tried. "He still hasn't quite regained his strength."

"Ok, fine. Maybe that's a legitimate excuse. But what about Sokka? Hunting?! When has he ever come back with anything decent? We'll probably just get another handful of nuts out of him." She rolled her eyes, exasperated. "He's just slacking off."

"Don't worry, Katara. We'll manage. I may be small, but I can carry a ton!" He held up his arms and buffed up his biceps with a goofy grin.

The girl sighed and her eyes softened a bit. "You just recovered, so I don't want you to push yourself. Sokka should have thought about that, too!" she said, getting mad again now that she thought more about her brother's lack of consideration.

Aang perked up when the village came into view, happy to change the subject. "Hey, look, Katara! We're here!" After taking a better look, however, his face fell. The houses, or perhaps shacks, looked as though they were practically falling apart. It didn't seem likely that anyone would be living there. "Well, looks like I won't be carrying much after all."

"Do you think it's deserted?" Katara asked.

"We're here. Might as well take a look."

Katara nodded in agreement, and the two went into the village.

Though the place looked pretty rundown, to their surprise, there were actually people walking about. One could probably count them all on one hand, but it was still a sign of life. Now that they were actually inside the village, they could see that many homes were in fact abandoned. However, a few of them still had inhabitants.

The eerie silence was almost overbearing as the pair tentatively ventured through the central street, if it could even be called that. Katara began playing with her fingers as she grew more nervous. She could almost feel eyes on her from behind closed doors. "Aang, maybe we should go back," she said, her voice almost too quiet to hear.

"Yeah," the boy agreed. "This place is creeping me out. Let's go."

When they turned around, they almost ran into an old man who was standing right behind them.

Katara brought her hands to her chest and gasped in surprise. "Ack! Where did you come from?!"

The old man had a long white beard and appeared to be about Iroh's age, though he was a bit taller and slimmer. He laughed lightly to himself as he bowed. "My apologies, young miss. I did not mean to alarm you. It's just that this village rarely has visitors, so to find the Avatar himself gracing us with his presence is truly an honor." He bowed to Aang with a smile. "You _are_ the great Avatar, are you not?"

The boy smiled and bowed in greeting. "Nice to meet you, sir. My name's Aang. This is my friend, Katara." He gestured to the waterbender. "And you are…?"

"I am Kwan, the village elder. Tell me, young ones, what brings you here today?"

"We're in need of supplies," Katara answered. "Food, mostly. Is there a place where we can buy fresh produce around here?"

"Of course," Kwan said. "I will take you there."

Katara smiled. "Thank you for your kindness."

"No need for thanks. It is the least I can do." Kwan led the way and the pair followed. As they walked, they noticed there were more people out in the open now. They all looked on while staying a safe distance away, watching as their elder dealt with the strangers. No one smiled. They merely stared, giving Aang and Katara a rather unsettling feeling.

Curiosity got to the young monk. "So uh…what happened here? It seems so…well…"

"I suppose it is obvious our village is going through a difficult time," the old man began with a sigh. "We are mostly farmers here, depending heavily on our crops. But Mother Nature hasn't been kind, and we suffered year after year of drought. Many have already left. But for those of us who have nowhere else to go, we are barely getting by." He stopped in front of a couple of vegetable carts. "Ah, here we are."

Katara went over to the carts and frowned at the selections. There weren't many to choose from, and the carts were only half full at best. It made her sad to think that this was what these people actually had to live off of.

While Katara was picking out a few things, Aang stayed with Kwan. "I'm sorry to hear about this," the boy began, his eyes downcast. "I wish there's something I can do." He may be the Avatar, but weather controlling wasn't one of his powers.

"Actually, there is one thing," Kwan said thoughtfully. "I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me out, young Avatar."

"What is it?" Aang's eyes widened hopefully as he looked at the old man.

Kwan stroked his beard. "The truth is, there has been a lot of unrest among the villagers due to the harsh times. We will be holding a meeting this evening to try to address their issues. I think it would be beneficial if you could attend to help mediate disputes and ease their concerns."

"All right. I think I can do that," Aang replied without a second thought.

Kwan's smile widened as he bowed. "Thank you, Avatar. We are truly indebted."

* * *

Aang now found himself in the sitting room of the village elder's house. The old man had suggested that he stay the night since he wasn't sure how long the meeting would last. As there was still plenty of time before the meeting was due to begin, they came here first to wait.

Katara had already returned to their camp. Though she wanted to stay with Aang, in the end he convinced her it would be best for her to go back so the others would know what was going on and not worry needlessly. Besides, someone had to bring Sokka food before he starved to death since both benders had a pretty good idea what kind of hunting experience the Water Tribe boy most likely had.

After showing Aang to the sitting room, Kwan left to go make some tea. The boy sat in one of the four chairs surrounding a small square wooden table in the middle of the room. With nothing better to do, his eyes wandered about. Though this was the home of a village elder, it was small and simple. The only decorative items adorning the room were some scrolls hanging on the walls with poetry and phrases about health and well being.

Shortly after, a tall, medium build man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties came into the room holding a tray with a pot of hot tea and two teacups. Smiling at the boy, he bowed politely. "It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Aang," he said as he began to serve the tea. "My father asked me to entertain you. I am Jian."

"Kwan's your father?"

"Yes." Jian offered a cup of tea to Aang. "This is ginseng tea. Out of the various kinds of teas, this one has the most health benefits."

The monk cocked a brow. "Your family seems very health conscious," he said as he eyed the scrolls on the walls again.

Jian laughed as he sat down with his own cup of tea. "Yes, well, we are physicians after all."

Aang raised his brows. "You're doctors? Your whole family?"

"Yes," he beamed proudly. "I suppose it is like our family business. For many generations now we have studied the arts of healing."

"That's impressive! So, I guess you're pretty good with herbs and stuff, huh?"

The older man gave a sheepish look. "Well…medicine is more my father's territory. I specialize in acupuncture."

Aang scratched his head. "Acupuncture? What's that?"

Jian smiled as he reached inside his sleeve to pull out a small lacquer box. Opening it, he picked up three of the many delicate needles that were within, each only about the length of a person's finger, and held it up for Aang to see. "Do you know what these are?"

"Uh…needles?"

"Acupuncture needles, to be precise. They're great healing tools. You see, our health depends on how well the chi within our body flows. We fall ill when the flow of chi is blocked or disrupted. By using these acupuncture needles on the various pressure points along the pathways in which chi circulates in our body, it can manipulate the chi's flow and, by so doing, restore health and balance."

Aang held his face in one hand, propping it up with his elbow on the table as he tried to absorb the information. "I guess that makes sense. It sounds a lot like the chakra stuff this one guru told me about."

"Of course, if misused, these needles can also block chi instead." Jian brought the needles back closer to himself, studying it. "It's truly amazing how much power these delicate tools can have over people. Not very many physicians know how to use them anymore, but for those who have mastered the art, it is a simple task to either heal sickness or cripple someone." He directed his attention back to the child before him, no longer smiling. "Even taking away a master bender's ability is mere child's play."

Aang's eyes widened as every nerve in his body suddenly tingled with the sense of danger. But it was already too late.

Jian held the needles between his index and middle fingers. With a simple flick of his wrist, he sent them flying towards the airbender, planting two needles into his chest and one into his neck. Aang promptly collapsed onto the table.

Kwan stepped into the room, followed by two younger men. Looking at the unconscious boy, he sighed with much sorrow. "Please forgive us, young Avatar."

Jian kept his eyes on the boy as he stood up. "He's supposed to be the savior, isn't he?" he said in a flat tone of voice. "Well, now he can save the entire village. He's only performing his duty."

The old man nodded sadly. "Take him to the jailhouse."

The two men who came in with Kwan went over to the table. Each hooking an arm under one of Aang's, they carried the boy away.

* * *

Sitting up in a tree, concealed behind a curtain of leaves, Zuko watched as the two men dragged an unconscious Aang out of the house, not quite believing his eyes.

He had actually been tailing Aang's group for a couple of days now. A gigantic flying bison wasn't that difficult to spot, especially for him. He'd had plenty of experience after all…practically an expert by now. But now that he'd finally caught up, he wasn't sure exactly what it was that he wanted to do. So, for the time being, he settled on following. If nothing else, he at least had an obligation to look out for his uncle.

Up until now, Zuko had been really careful about not getting too close to the group. However, this village simply gave him a bad vibe, so he decided to keep a closer watch. Now his suspicions were confirmed as he watched the two men take the Avatar to a small jailhouse. Though how the boy let himself fall prey to these peasants was beyond the prince.

That night, after the lights in every last house went out, Zuko jumped down from his hiding place and silently made his way over to the jailhouse. The door was unlocked, so he let himself in. To his surprise, he didn't find a single guard inside. _These people are obviously amateurs._

He gave the place a once over. With just a small flickering candle on a table in the corner as the light source, it was rather dim but still enough to somewhat see. It wasn't much of a jailhouse really. The room was basically a box with just one cell in it. _At least they know enough to install jail bars, I guess._

At the sight of Zuko, Aang, who was sitting inside the cell with his wrists tightly secured together with a pair of metal cuffs, shot up to his feet. "Zuko, is that you?" The Fire Nation prince was probably the last person he'd expected to show up.

At the sight of Aang, however, Zuko couldn't help but get annoyed. "I can't believe you! Are you TRULY the Avatar?!" he ridiculed as quietly as possible. "How in the world did you let a bunch of washed up old geezers in a village built with STICKS capture you? They're not even benders!!"

"Well, what does that say about YOU, o' mighty prince of the Fire Nation?" the monk retorted, his voice laced with sarcasm. "These old geezers got me within hours. And it took you how long? Oh wait, that's right…you never got me."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, sending the younger boy death glares. "Do you want me to leave? Because I'm getting a distinct feeling that you want me to leave."

Aang shook his head frantically. "No, no! Please don't! I'm cool!" He plastered a huge grin on his face.

Heaving an exasperated breath, Zuko approached the bars to examine the lock.

"So…you really did come to help me, huh?" the monk asked uncertainly.

Zuko glared at him again before returning his attention to the lock. "Don't take it the wrong way. I'm only doing this for my uncle. If something happens to you, he loses a major bodyguard."

Giving up on the lock, the firebender took another look around the cell. "Why didn't you just use your airbending to get yourself out of here? Your power should be more than enough for these shabby wood planks."

"I would if I could," Aang sighed.

Zuko furrowed his brows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Why don't you let me enlighten you on that matter?" said a voice from behind the teenager.

Zuko cursed himself under his breath for not noticing someone else was in the room sooner. He turned around to find there were actually three men. The one in the front, whom he assumed was the one who had spoken, was someone he didn't recognize. Behind him were the two men he had seen bringing Aang to the jailhouse earlier.

Aang's eyes widened when he recognized the man in the front. "Watch out!" That was the only warning he had time to give.

Jian flicked his wrist and sent a pair of needles into Zuko's chest.

In the dim candlelight, the boy couldn't even see it coming. In fact, it wasn't until he had felt for and pulled out the tiny "weapons" that he knew what it was that hit him. Understandably, he was more than confused. The needles may have pricked, but the small punctures in his skin could hardly be considered wounds.

Before Zuko could toss the needles aside, he was hit again, this time in the leg. To his astonishment, he suddenly lost all strength in that leg and dropped down to his knee. He cursed under his breath again. He didn't want to resort to this but, since he didn't have his swords with him, he had to use firebending. He inhaled, drawing on the chi within, then threw his fist out in a simple straight punch.

Nothing.

The flames wouldn't come. He couldn't bend. If he was confused before, he was horrified now. "What did you do to me?" he demanded dangerously as he glared up at Jian.

"It will be over soon," the acupuncturist replied with an unreadable expression. "For now, just sleep."

"What?" As soon as that word escaped his lips, Zuko felt a final prick on his neck, and his world faded to black.

"Lock him up," Jian said, and the other two men went about the task.

Aang couldn't believe how quickly it all went down. "What are you going to do with him?"

"Don't worry, Avatar Aang," Jian said. "We are not interested in your friend. We will release him in a few days when this is all over."

"Uh, Jian…you might want to come take a look," one of the men beckoned.

"What is it?" Jian went over to the two men hovering over Zuko. One of them was holding the candle to the boy's face. Now that he could see more clearly, Jian recognized the youth.

The acupuncturist smiled. "Now I'm sure our village can definitely be saved." Turning back to Aang, he said, "It seems I may have spoken too soon. I'm sorry Avatar Aang, but I can not let the Fire Nation prince go free."

* * *

Zuko awoke to find himself sitting inside the jail cell with his back leaning up against the wall. As he tried to bring a hand to his forehead to help clear the fog, he realized his wrists were now cuffed together. It took another moment before he remembered his encounter with the needle-throwing man and was still in disbelief over what happened. When he looked up, he saw Aang sitting on the other side of the cell in the corner farthest away from Zuko.

Noticing that the prince was awake, the monk twiddled his fingers nervously and gulped as he tried to avoid Zuko's eyes. "Yeah, so…they have the ability to take away your bending with acupuncture."

Zuko all but glared. "It would have been nice if you told me that BEFORE they took it!"

Aang shrank back meekly with a wince then tried to change the subject. "What are you doing here? I thought you said that it was best if we never cross paths again."

"With luck, yes," Zuko said as he leaned his head against the wall, staring up at nothing in particular. Then he mumbled, "I never was a very lucky person."

At that moment, the jailhouse door opened and a young woman who looked to be about twenty appeared carrying a tray. She was slim and had straight, waist-length hair. Her hair was kept neatly out of her face with a pair of clips above her ears. She came in and sat on her heels just on the other side of the jail bars. As she set her tray on the floor beside her, she spoke in a warm and gentle voice. "You boys must be hungry. Please, have some food."

On the tray was a plate of meat buns, a pot of tea, and two cups. She picked up two of the buns and held them out through the metal bars.

The boys exchanged looks. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, Aang came forward. Zuko, on the other hand, stayed right where he was.

"Thanks," Aang said as he took the first bun and tossed it over to Zuko, who didn't look too happy about receiving it, then grabbed the second one for himself. "Miss?"

"Please, call me Zi Wen," the girl bowed slightly.

"Zi Wen, what's going to happen to us?"

"I think I can guess," Zuko grumbled.

With downcast eyes, she replied, "The men will take you to the nearest Fire Nation controlled town to claim the rewards for your capture."

"Oh," was all Aang managed to say. Now he understood what Jian meant when he said the village could be revived.

"I'm truly very sorry," Zi Wen apologized, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "It wasn't always this way. We really are good people. It's just that…desperation can sometimes make people do things against their beliefs."

Zuko looked up at the girl. Despite his current situation, he found himself feeling somewhat empathetic. After all, didn't life push him into a corner as well, forcing him to act against his will?

"Many years ago, this village used to be a much larger and thriving town," Zi Wen explained. "We were well known throughout the Earth Kingdom for our doctors with exceptional medical skills. Then one day, Fire Nation came through and destroyed our home. They took away our most talented healers and forced them to serve as doctors for their wounded soldiers in the war. Over time, this place deteriorated into what you see now. We never heard from any of the captured doctors again. Today, only a handful of us still practice the same kind of healing. I'm afraid it may soon become a lost art. Although Jian is trying his hardest to teach the children, it is difficult to keep our heritage alive when the village itself is dying."

Silence hung in the air. Neither boy knew exactly how to respond.

Zi Wen wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to burden you with our troubles. I just wished for you to understand." She poured two cups of tea and set them down inside the cell.

"Our bending," Zuko spoke up. "How can we get it back?"

"Your bending abilities can be restored immediately with the use of acupuncture. But even without it, your bending will return in a few days' time."

"We don't really have a few days," Aang noted sadly.

Zuko thought how all this chi-manipulating business was a lot like Ty Lee's methods, only much more advanced. "Tell me. Are you one of the handful you spoke of who can still practice healing?"

Zi Wen gave a sad smile, understanding his unspoken request. "Yes. But I can not restore your bending." She placed her hands on the floor and bowed deeply, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "As a healer, please understand how difficult this is for me. But I can not go against my village. Please forgive me!" With that, she got up and ran out of the room in a flash.

Aang sighed. "Well, what do we do now?"

Zuko picked up the meat bun that was still sitting on his lap. Taking food from his captor who had taken pity on him would rank pretty high on his list of most humiliating experiences in life, second only to panhandling with his uncle. Nonetheless, if he were to live through this, he would need his strength. "We eat," he said and bit into the bun. "Throw me another one."

Aang blinked at Zuko's sudden shedding of his pride but did as he was asked. Before long, the two boys had cleared the entire plate.

"So we ate. Now what?" the young monk asked.

"Now we leave." Zuko pulled out the dagger he kept hidden in the side of his boot, once again noting what amateurs these people were. They didn't even check their prisoners for weapons. "I suppose we should count ourselves lucky these people are just farmers and not professionals. The rotting wood planks should be easy enough to cut through."

"I don't think this jailhouse even gets used," Aang said in agreement as he walked along the walls of the cell, looking for the easiest place to cut an opening. "Over here, Zuko," he said, pointing to an especially rotten piece.

Zuko came over. "Keep a lookout," he said, and got to work on picking, sawing, and chipping away at the wood as quickly and as quietly as possible. When he'd determined the planks were weakened enough, he kicked a hole into the wall just large enough for them to crawl out of. The prince slipped the dagger back into his boot. After checking that the coast was clear, he started to crawl through.

Just then, the jailhouse door opened and two men stepped in. Dawn was fast approaching, and they were here to take the prisoners away.

Aang's eyes widened. "Zuko, we have to move!" Panicked, he stepped on the prince's behind and pushed him out.

"Hey!" Zuko exclaimed as he was ejected and sprawled indignantly face first in the dirt.

Aang slipped out of the hole, oblivious to the other boy's condition. "Let's go! They're coming!" he said as he ran past Zuko.

Zuko grumbled as he got back to his feet and took off. If he weren't in such a hurry, he would have definitely whacked Aang upside the head.

The two men pursued while at the same time hollering to the world that the prisoners had escaped. Pretty soon, men started showing up left and right with various farm tools in hand to join in the recapture.

As the boys ran, the first person to stand in their path was Jian, needles at the ready. "You're not going anywhere."

"It won't be so easy this time," Zuko said. Now that they knew what to look out for and with daylight making the needles visible, Jian had lost his advantage over them.

Jian sent his delicate weapons flying, targeting Zuko who dodged them easily with a twist of the torso. At that moment, Aang charged at Jian, jumped, and swung his arms at the older man. His metal cuffs connected with Jian's head and rendered him unconscious.

"Sorry about that!" Aang apologized hastily as he continued on his way. He rounded a corner into an alley then immediately turned around and came back out yelling, "AAHHH!! Crazy guy with a rake! Run!"

Zuko, who was following behind him, turned and led the way in another direction. He spotted a thick, long rope coiled up by a well and picked up one end of it as he zoomed by. "Grab the other end!" he hollered back at the airbender.

Aang made it to the well just as the rope finished uncoiling, and he picked up the other end as Zuko directed. "Got it!"

Together, stretching the rope taut between them, they turned and charged towards a group of farm tool-waving maniacs behind them. The boys managed to catch five of them around the waist and backed them into a tree. Running circles around them with the rope, they tied up the group.

The pair had barely finished with the task when another man charged in with a yell, swinging his weapon.

"DUCK!" Zuko hollered.

Aang ducked just in time to miss the scythe that was now securely embedded into the tree trunk right between the heads of two of the bound men, now passed out and foaming at the mouth from fear. While the attacker struggled to pull the scythe out, Zuko did a jump kick, giving the man a good whack to the back of his neck, effectively knocking him out.

As the boys took off again, Aang said breathlessly, "Great. That's another one down, leaving only about thirty or so more rabid farmers and doctors on our tails. There's no way we can take them all in our condition."

"Just keep running," Zuko replied. "My ostrich horse is up ahead."

They ran until they reached the outskirts of the village where the beast was waiting faithfully. Aang sped up to gain momentum then jumped and mounted from the back. Landing in the saddle, he grabbed hold of the reigns as best he could with his bound hands.

Zuko hopped on behind him. "Go!"

They took off, leaving the crazy mob behind. As a last ditch attempt, the men at the front of the pack threw their tools at the escapees. As luck would have it, one such tool, a small axe, spun through the air and lodged itself into Zuko's back. The firebender winced and slumped forward.

Aang, feeling his weight, asked, "Zuko, are you—"

"Just keep going!"

With that prompt, the younger boy snapped his reigns and the ostrich horse ran faster.

* * *

Aang pulled on the reigns and the beast came to a stop. He gave the ostrich horse a few pets on the neck as thanks. They had finally arrived.

"Zuko, are you alright?" Aang tried asking again as the prince had been leaning on him the entire trip. He turned a little to get a better look, but his shift in position caused Zuko to fall off the ostrich horse. He was already unconscious.

It wasn't until then that Aang saw the axe in Zuko's back. His blood froze at the sight of the saddle soaked in the banished prince's blood. _How long has it been since he passed out from blood loss?!_

"Zuko!" Aang jumped off to help the other boy, trying unsuccessfully to keep himself from panicking. He touched Zuko's back gently and fought to keep the nauseating feeling at bay when he looked at the thick layer of red that covered his hand. _This is bad…This is really bad! What do I do?!_

Carefully, Aang pulled Zuko's body up to a sitting position then put the older boy's arms around his shoulders. This was a rather awkward and difficult task since both were bound at the wrists and Aang was quite a bit shorter than Zuko. Nonetheless, in this manner of half-carrying half-dragging, Aang began hauling Zuko back to his friends, all the while hoping they weren't too late.

* * *

A/N: So, I guess this is the "join up" chapter. I had some trouble trying to figure out how much detail I should put in about the village. I was worried that too much would make it boring, but too little would make it incomplete and unclear. What do you think? Some feedback would be nice. Reviews appreciated. Thanks for reading! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"All right, Sokka, here's the last one!" Katara yelled as she tossed the last roll of sleeping bag up to her brother in Appa's saddle.

Sokka, still half-asleep, stretched his arms out at the sound of his sister's voice. His movements were a bit too slow, however, and the sleeping bag whacked him in the face, knocking him over into the saddle. Grouchy from having to get up before he was done sleeping, he clamped his hands on the saddle and frowned down at his sister. "Katara! Why the heck are you making us pack up so early?! Aang's not even back yet!"

"He'll be here any minute," Karata replied with her hand on her hip. "I want to make sure we're ready by then so we don't waste any time."

"But it's still early! Think about what you're doing to poor Iroh! It's important for people to get enough rest at his age."

"Oh, don't worry about me," came Iroh's voice from somewhere behind Sokka.

The boy turned around to find Iroh to the other side of Appa, looking far too cheery and energetic to pass as someone who was in need of rest. The old man was practicing the waterbending moves he'd picked up from Katara since they started traveling together. Even though he wasn't a waterbender, he found its style perfect for him to use as morning exercise.

Iroh grinned up at him. "I'm an early riser."

Sokka grumbled as he turned back to his sister who was now giving him that 'are you finished yet?' look. "Well…what about Toph! She's still sleeping! If she sleeps, then I get to sleep, too!" He folded his arms with a pout.

As if on cue, Toph crawled out of her earth tent and got to her feet, brows furrowed. Her attention, however, was not on the bickering Water Tribe siblings.

Both Sokka and Katara froze in place. They knew that look. Something was coming.

"It's not the Fire Nation girls, is it?" Katara asked. That would be bad. Aang wasn't back yet. They can't leave without him.

"No." Toph tilted her head a bit to the side, seeming perplexed. "I think it's Twinkle Toes, but…it's different. He seems…weighed down somehow."

"Oh!" Sokka perked up. "Maybe he brought food!"

Before the earthbender could reply, said monk burst through the bushes and into the clearing, completely worn and tired. "Guys! I need a hand!"

"Aang!" Katara exclaimed, shocked to see him in the condition he was in. "What in the world—"

"He's hurt!"

It wasn't until then that the siblings noticed the injured person the boy was carrying on his back, his feet dragging a trail behind them. Sokka immediately jumped out of the saddle, and they both ran over to help. When Aang laid the person down and they finally got a look at his face however…both siblings halted in their tracks, wide eyed and silent.

It took Katara a while to find her voice. When she did, it came in an explosion. "ZUKO?!! You brought back ZUKO?!!" It was an explosion of pure rage.

"Not just any Zuko," Sokka said, "it's half-dead Zuko. What happened?"

On the other side of Appa, Iroh caught his nephew's name and came running. His heart sank when he saw how pale the boy was. His blood was everywhere, and the axe was still lodged in his back. Kneeling beside him, Iroh checked his neck for a pulse. It was weak. He picked up Zuko's hands, trying to find a way to break the cuffs that bound them together. If he were to use firebending to melt the binds, the boy's wrists will certainly get burned in the process.

A small hand reached out from beside him and placed itself over the cuffs. "Let me get that for you," Toph said, her voice much more gentle than usual. The old man may be calm and collected on the outside, but his heartbeats told her just how panicked he was in reality. She got a better grip around the cuffs then, with her recently acquired metalbending skills, ripped them apart as though they were made of paper.

While these two were hovering over Zuko, an argument sprung up behind them.

"Katara, you have to help him!" Aang said, sounding desperate.

"No!" Katara answered reflexively. "There's no way I'm going to help him ever again!"

"But he saved my life!"

"I don't care!" She folded her arms and huffed.

"Maybe you should save him, Katara," Sokka interjected. "Then we can kill him ourselves. It's more satisfying that way anyway."

"Sokka!" Aang exclaimed, giving a pointed look at Iroh's back.

The Water Tribe boy held up his hands defensively. "I was just kidding. Geez."

The monk turned his attention back to the waterbender. "Please, Katara" he said, giving her a pleading look. "If you don't…he'll die."

With her eyes closed, Katara frowned for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, she sighed with a visible slump of her shoulders. "Why do I have to be so darn sympathetic?!"

Aang let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and beamed at his friend. "Thanks, Katara!"

* * *

Her water-gloved hand made one last pass over Zuko's bare back. Satisfied that the wound was now completely healed, Katara let her glove drip off her hand and soak into the ground. Sitting back, she sighed heavily and wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling completely drained. The healing process had taken quite a while as the axe had cut rather deeply into his flesh. It was surprising that his lung didn't get punctured, though the excessive blood loss did put him at death's door.

After another moment's rest, Katara helped the still unconscious Zuko put his clothes back on, none too happy about being the one stuck with the job. For the umpteenth time, she wondered why everyone else had felt the need to leave her alone so she could concentrate on her task. Whether they went to take walks or take baths, she didn't know, but no one else was around. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with this creep again. _Ugh…I'm even touching him!_

She turned him over so he was laying face up on the blanket then sat back and shot a loathing glare at him, only wishing he was awake to receive her glare. Whenever she looked at him, memories of that brief, yet unfortunate, time they'd spent together in the crystal cave would surface without her bidding, annoying her to no end. How could she have been so stupid to believe anything he'd said? She even went as far as to offer to heal the scar on his face. What was she thinking?!

The more she thought, the more frustrated and angry she became. Katara was in the middle of muttering a long string of colorful obscenities that a respectable waterbending master, such as herself, should never be caught dead saying when she heard some smacking noises somewhere off to her side. Curious, she turned to investigate.

It didn't take long for her to find the source of the sound. It was Momo. The lemur was flying circles around the surrounding trees, hunting the cricket moths that were camouflaged on the tree trunks and branches. She'd seen him do it before. Whenever a prey was sighted, he would fly in and give it one good whack before it even knew what was coming. As the insect falls dizzily to the ground, Momo would go retrieve it and dump it into a pile until he feels he has collected enough before he eats them.

Katara always thought it a strange habit of the lemur's. "Momo, just eat them already! Why do you have to smack them senseless like that? It' so…" She looked at the growing pile of cricket moths on the ground. Some were unconscious while others were at various degrees of near unconsciousness with their legs flailing about. She shivered at the mere sight. "Gross…"

Then the waterbender paused for a moment as an idea came to her mind, a sly grin slowly appearing on her lips. Jumping to her feet, she went over to their supplies, her eyes scanning the area to make sure no one has yet returned. Then she opened the sack where they kept all their fruits and dug out the biggest melon she could find. With it tucked under one arm, she went over to Momo and his now hill of cricket moths.

The lemur blinked up at her questioningly as he shoved an insect in his mouth and began to chew.

"Momo," Katara grinned down at the furry little creature. "I'll make you a trade." She got down on her knees and laid the melon down next to the insect pile. "This big, juicy, delicious melon for a handful of cricket moths. What do you say?"

Momo cocked his head and scratched his neck as though weighing his options. Then he went over to the melon, sniffed it a few times, then climbed on top of it and trilled a positive reply.

The girl smiled and, with her two hands, grabbed as many cricket moths as she could. "Nice doing business with you," she said as she got back to her feet and turned to go.

Momo, however, was already too busy trying to dig into the melon to care about what she had to say.

Katara went back over to Zuko, humming a happy tune as she shoved every last cricket moth down his shirt. When she was done, she tidied up his clothes, brushing away the dirt, making sure the sash was securely tied, and smoothing out the wrinkles. Then she got a blanket and covered him up nice and cozy.

Leaning in closer as she gave him a soft pat on the chest, she grinned with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "Sleep well, Your Highness."

Getting back to her feet, she stretched and heaved a satisfied sigh. "I feel much better now."

* * *

"I say we leave him after he wakes up," Sokka said.

Katara raised her hand. "I second that."

Sokka turned to Iroh. "Sorry, old man. We just don't like that angry jerk."

Iroh sighed with downcast eyes. "I understand."

While Zuko was lying off to the side somewhere recuperating, the rest of the group was sitting around a campfire engaged in a discussion to decide his fate.

It was obvious to Aang where the Water Tribe siblings stood on the matter, so it took him a while to work up the nerve to say what he was about to say. "Well um…I think…I think he should stay with us." He mentally braced himself for the explosion he knew would follow.

"WHAT?!" Sokka jumped to standing position. "Are you insane?! Did you forget this is the guy who's been determined to capture you since day one?! Did you forget you almost died not too long ago, no thanks to him and his crazy sister?!"

The young monk averted his eyes. "He saved me this time. I don't know… There's something different about him. I think he's changed."

Katara narrowed her eyes, jabbing a finger at Aang for emphasis while she spoke. "Did he say that? Because it means NOTHING when he says it!"

"Yeah, and saving you was just a matter of convenience," Sokka added. "He was captured, too!"

"You don't understand. He got caught because he was trying to help me," Aang explained. "He didn't have to come."

Iroh raised a brow at the boy's revelation.

Sokka folded his arms and grumbled. He couldn't believe they actually had to argue about this. "Toph, say something!"

Toph, with a straw in her mouth, shrugged easily. "I don't have a problem with him."

That earned her a glare from the Water Tribe boy who then grunted. "Toph, be quiet!"

At this point, Aang held up his hands. "Guys, please! Just trust me! At least give me a chance," he pleaded. "I really feel this is the way it's supposed to be. Please…"

Sokka's arms began to flail. "So what do—"

Katara put out an arm to hold her brother back while her other hand went up to her forehead to rub her aching temples. "Sokka. Let's just…see what happens when he wakes up."

"WHAT?!" Sokka exclaimed incredulously. "Not you, too!"

Katara grabbed her brother's wrist and started dragging him away. "Excuse us for a moment."

When they were out of earshot, Sokka protested again in a quieter voice. "Katara, I really don't think it's a good idea."

Katara sighed. "I don't think Aang will be satisfied unless we give his idea a try."

"So what? It's for his own safety. You can't keep giving into him all the time."

"It's not that. Think about it, Sokka. If we dump Zuko here when he's vulnerable, what do you think Iroh will do?"

"Well, he…" Sokka paused as he suddenly realized their dilemma. "I see," he said, sounding deflated now. "Iroh will undoubtedly stay behind with Zuko."

"And Aang will lose his chance to learn firebending from the most qualified firebending master," Katara finished for him. "Not to mention probably the only one who would be willing to teach him."

Sokka grabbed his head with both hands and started pacing around irritably. "Keep a threat around or lose the chance of a lifetime. I hate these choices!"

"It'll be fine, Sokka," Katara assured. "Zuko's not a threat right now. He's injured and he can't bend. We can take him if he tries anything funny."

Sokka sighed. "Fine. You're right. We'll see how things go for now. We can always throw him into a ditch later if we need to."

Katara smiled. "Who knows? Maybe he'll just walk out on his own since he thinks he's above us anyway. That would save us a lot of trouble."

After reaching their decision, the siblings returned to the waiting group.

"Well?" Aang asked in anticipation.

Iroh mirrored the boy's expression but remained silent.

Toph, on the other hand, looked like she could care less.

Sokka folded his arms and huffed. "The angry jerk can stay."

Aang cheered while Iroh let out a silent breath of relief.

"BUT!" Katara said in a commanding tone of voice, catching both Aang and Iroh's full attention before they could celebrate much further. "If he does anything even remotely suspicious, I will freeze his firebending ass and drown him in a lake! Understood?!"

With wide eyes and slacked jaws, the old man and young monk nodded in unison. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Iroh sat beside Zuko, watching him sleep by a small campfire. Throughout the entire day, the boy never once woke up, didn't even so much as move a muscle. The steady rising and falling of his chest was the only sign that he was in fact still among the living.

Gently brushing Zuko's growing bangs away from his face, Iroh thought about the recent trials in a long list of many that life had put the boy through. He knew from the start that there was no sincerity behind Azula's words back in the crystal caves. It was only a matter of time before she turned on her brother. He had been so worried about Zuko's wellbeing but, now that the boy was by his side again, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I hope your experience this time has finally opened your eyes, dear nephew," Iroh said quietly and compassionately to the sleeping boy. "I know it is heartbreaking to accept the truth, but acceptance will give rise to strength and resolve. Then perhaps next time…you will be able to choose more wisely."

"So this is the infamous nephew of yours, huh?"

Iroh looked up to find Toph standing beside him, her arm outstretched towards him with a cup of tea in her hand. "Yes," the old man replied as he accepted the cup gratefully.

The blind girl went over and squatted by the prince as though she was studying him. Then she turned to Iroh with a small grin. "Want me to rough him up for you when he wakes up?"

Iroh chuckled. "That's very sweet of you, Toph, but I will just accept the thought."

Toph shrugged. "Well, if you say so. I guess nearly kicking the bucket is good enough of a punishment."

"He kept insisting that he was only helping me because of you." Aang joined in the conversation, taking a seat beside Iroh. "I just thought I should tell you that."

The old man nodded. "May I ask you a question, Aang?"

Aang raised a brow in query.

"Why is it that you feel so strongly about my nephew? It is a bit surprising, since he has been pursuing you for so long."

The young monk wrapped his arms around his legs and stared at the fire as he gave the question some thought. "I can't really describe it. It's like a gut feeling I have. Sort of like how I knew Toph would be my earthbending teacher, because I'd seen her in a vision. I haven't actually seen Zuko in any visions or anything, but…I just have this strong feeling that I need him on my side in order to win. Like he's the missing piece or something."

Toph turned back to the sleeping prince, slightly intrigued. "Missing piece, huh?"

Iroh couldn't help but smile. "Aang, you are the Avatar after all…much closer to the spirits and more in tune with the flow of the world than anyone else. For my nephew's sake, I pray that you are correct. He has been lost and struggling for quite some time now. I hope that with your guidance, he will be able to find his way." Iroh bowed slightly to the boy. "I thank you for your faith in him."

Aang clasped his hands together and bowed in return.

* * *

_Swimming desperately in the angry sea, he struggled to stay afloat as wave after towering wave of turbulent waters crashed over him. In the midst of such a grand display of nature's wrath, his efforts were all but insignificant. Eventually, his strength gave out and he went under._

_Just then, a hand reached below the water's surface and clasped around his wrist, pulling him back up. A hand with a blue arrow…_

* * *

Zuko's eyes shot open. He wasn't sure where he was. It was daytime, and there were trees everywhere. He was somewhere out in the open, but how did he get here?

Then memories of his escape flooded his mind, and he remembered he had been impaled. Removing his blanket, he suddenly sat up, feeling his back for an injury. To his surprise, he found nothing. He was feeling fatigue but definitely not pain. _What happened?_

Before he could ponder much further, he was distracted by a strange sensation. It felt like something was moving under his clothes…a lot of something. He could feel it everywhere, the hair-raising tickling sensation. In the front, in the back, on his neck, as well as up and down the length of both arms. His eyes grew wide as he jumped to his feet, whacking at himself, doing what appeared to be a peculiar dance as he turned frantically left and right.

Aang was glad to see him up. "Hey, Zuko! You're awa…" He trailed off as he cocked his head to the side with a confused look on his face. "Huh?"

"What in the HECK are you doing, princey boy?" Toph said, completely amused by the erratic movements she was sensing from him.

It finally dawned on Zuko to remove his top as quickly as possible. As he tossed his shed garment to the ground, about twenty or so cricket moths, each the size of a person's thumb, took to the air now that they had been freed from their prison. Zuko could only shiver at the sight as he unconsciously ran his hands over his body to make sure none were left.

Sokka, who had originally intended to greet the waking prince with an I'm-watching-you speech he had worked out in his head, was now howling uncontrollably with laughter while Iroh tried, and failed miserably, to hide his smile.

Aang was wide-eyed with shock. Though whether it was shock from witnessing Zuko's weird hop jiggle dance or from the sheer number of cricket moths that had been under his clothes, he wasn't sure.

In the meantime, Toph was tugging at the airbender's shirt, demanding an explanation. "What happened?!"

A bit farther away from the group, Katara turned around to remain behind the tree where she had been hiding the second Zuko woke up. With both hands clasped tightly over her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud, she slid down to the ground and leaned back on the tree for support as she tried to contain herself.

Momo, who had been perched on her shoulder, hopped over onto her knee and tilted his head, trilling at her questioningly.

The girl placed a finger to her lips to tell the lemur to be quiet. Then she whispered to her furry friend, "So, what did we learn today, Momo?"

The lemur scratched his head and tilted it to the other side.

"Playing tricks is bad," Katara said, wagging a finger at Momo as though she was teaching or disciplining. "…unless it's on Zuko." She couldn't help but giggle and had to cover her lips once more.

* * *

Zuko spent most of that day resting and meditating in his own spot slightly detached from the group. Aang came around at one point to ask how he was doing. Sokka came around at another point to give him a piece of his mind.

"_The only reason why you're still here and didn't get clobbered to death in your sleep by my boomerang is because Aang is trusting and forgiving. But the rest of us are watching you."_

Other than that, everyone pretty much left Zuko alone, which was fine by him. If nothing else, it made living down his most recent embarrassment a little bit easier. Just a little.

His pride, however, was the least of his worries at the moment. He was most concerned about Iroh. The prince wasn't prepared to come face to face with his uncle just yet. On one hand, he was relieved that Iroh hadn't approached him, because it gave him more time to think. On the other hand, he was worried that Iroh might be avoiding him because he no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. The more Zuko thought, the more anxious he became. What would his uncle say? Would he ever call him 'nephew' again? What should _he_ say? Could he ever regain the old man's trust?

"How are you feeling, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his uncle's voice. It was the same calm and soothing voice as usual, but it did little to ease his feelings this time. "Uncle, I…don't know what to say." Guilt prevented him from meeting Iroh's eyes.

"Say you will join us for dinner," the old man said cheerfully. "Miss Katara made her special Water Tribe stew, using Earth Kingdom ingredients. Hmm…" He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Water and earth…I guess that makes it mud stew." He chuckled to himself then mumbled, "Wait till Sokka hears this!"

Zuko glanced briefly up at Iroh before getting up on his feet and returning his gaze to the ground. "Uncle…I'm sorry I let you down," he said with a heavy heart. "I was weak and…I betrayed you."

Iroh placed his hand understandingly on the boy's shoulder. "I won't lie and say that I wasn't heartbroken. But what's important is that you are here now, and you are safe." The old firebender smiled gently. "I have been waiting for you."

Zuko looked up in surprise. This definitely was not what he expected. _I don't deserve this…_ With clenched fists, he bowed deeply to the man who loved him without condition, loved him like a son. At that moment, Zuko vowed to himself that if he ever betrayed Iroh again, he would slit his own throat.

Iroh placed a hand on Zuko's head, proud of the boy's progress. After all, when compared to himself who required the loss of his only child to truly come to his senses, the young prince was miles and miles in the lead. "Come now. No need to beat yourself up this much over it. Especially since you did cut my shackles." His smile widened.

Zuko straightened up with wide eyes. "You knew that was me?! Did the Avatar tell you?" He cursed under his breath. "I told him not to tell you!"

Iroh raised a brow. "So, the boy knows, too, huh? Interesting… Now things are falling into place…"

Zuko gave his uncle a confused look. "What? He didn't tell you? Then how did you—"

Iroh sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Zuko, I've been overseeing your training for years. I know how you move. That aside, did you _honestly_ believe that a different colored mask was all it took to prevent me from recognizing you?"

Zuko looked away but remained silent.

Iroh sighed inwardly. _I think that's a yes._ "Oh, excellent form on redirecting the lightning, by the way. A bit risky with the swords, but you handled it quite well." He went on ahead to the campfire where his other traveling companions have already gathered.

Zuko smiled to himself then followed.

The atmosphere around the campfire was somewhat awkward, as expected. Iroh and Aang tried to lighten the mood a bit from time to time, but for the most part, everyone pretty much just concentrated on their food.

The Water Tribe stew made with Earth Kingdom ingredients, now officially renamed Mud Stew for ease, was indeed quite good. Zuko was rather famished since he hadn't eaten anything after his escape from those crazy villagers. Unfortunately, he lost his appetite half way through when he found a roach beetle still alive and kicking its legs at the bottom of his bowl. He picked the insect out of the bowl as his eyes twitched and put it back on the ground. Before the roach beetle had a chance to escape, however, the opportunistic Momo came by and swiped it up.

* * *

A/N: When I first started working on this story, I had missed the Lake Laogai episode and wasn't aware that Iroh already knew Zuko was the Blue Spirit. So, when I finally watched it, I freaked out because it screwed up the part about Zuko not wanting Iroh to know that he had a hand in saving him. In the end, I reworked it in this fashion. It makes Zuko into even more of a blockhead, but I thought…eh, it kinda suits him. LOL! Reviews appreciated! Thanks for reading! And special thanks to those who reviewed! It made me really happy! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

His first meal with the Avatar's group was nothing short of awkward and uncomfortable in general, but Zuko could have sworn the tension between the waterbender and himself in particular was at some sort of maximum overflow. It wasn't that she did anything. In fact, she pretty much ignored him the entire time. Nonetheless, while trying to pretend that he didn't exist, she somehow managed to give him a lifetime's worth of nasty looks. Even though she didn't say a single word to him, Zuko heard the message loud and clear. She hated him.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why. After all, back in the crystal caves, didn't he betray her trust practically seconds after she had given it to him? Didn't he turn on her after she had so graciously overlooked their past and offered to heal the mark of his shame? Wasn't he the one who couldn't see beyond his own needs and chose to abandon everyone and everything in order to save himself?

Whenever he looked at her, his guilt would start to eat away at him. That was exactly what was happening right now. Zuko was standing a few feet behind Katara who was crouched down beside a stream, busy cleaning the dishes from that night's dinner. He had actually been standing there for quite some time now, debating whether or not he should approach. In the end, he decided the least he could do was apologize.

The prince went closer to the waterbender and took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself. "Katara, maybe I speak with you for a moment?"

Katara's body went rigid at the sound of his voice. Without turning around, she replied curtly, "I'm surprised you even know my name."

"It's only been hollered in my presence a million times over. That kind of repetition will do it for you." Despite his sincere intentions for approaching her, Zuko couldn't quite keep the sarcasm from seeping into his voice.

Katara scowled. _Smart ass…_ She continued with her dishwashing. "So? How may I be of service, Your Highness?"

Zuko lowered his head and paused for a moment, trying to figure out what he should say. When it came down to it, there really was no easy way to say it. "…I'm sorry."

Katara thought she had been doing pretty well so far, keeping her anger in check. In response to his pathetic apology, however, all hell broke loose. She stood up and whirled around to face him. "Sorry? You're sorry?! Oh, let me guess…this is the part where you're going to tell me you've changed…AGAIN! I can't believe how stupid I was to have believed anything that came out of your mouth!"

"I wasn't lying," Zuko said dejectedly, eyes still on the ground. He had meant everything he said when he said it…the things about change and determining his own destiny. He just didn't have enough conviction to see it through. The moment Azula appeared and presented him with what he thought was an opportunity, he caved in to temptation. He knew the fact that he didn't lie really didn't prove much of anything. He was still the one at fault.

Furious at his words, Katara slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you!"

Shocked, Zuko finally looked up at her, and then wished he hadn't. Seeing the tears threatening to spill from her glaring eyes only made him feel worse, knowing just how much he had hurt her. It shouldn't have been a surprise. His actions did nearly cost the Avatar his life.

"You said you were sorry. Yeah, right! You said you had changed. Yeah, right! You even said the Fire Nation took your mother away. You probably just made that up to get me to trust you! I mean, how ludicrous is that? The woman's the Fire Lord's wife! And I actually believed you!" Katara was hopping mad and breathing hard, but she didn't miss the flicker of anguish that briefly crossed his features before he looked away.

"I just wanted to apologize," Zuko said, dispirited and quiet.

"And so you did. Now if you don't mind, I will take my leave, Your Highness. Us peasants have a lot of work to do." She gathered up the dishes and turned to go, only to find a shocked and wide-eyed Aang standing not too far away, staring at them.

The boy shook himself out of his stupor. "Uh…Katara, Sokka asked me to come find you…since you were gone so long."

"I'm on my way back." Without another look at the prince, she walked away, leaving the two boys in an awkward silence.

Aang looked around uncomfortably, not sure exactly what he should say or do.

"How long were you there?" Zuko asked.

The younger boy winced. "Uh…from 'I'm sorry'?"

Zuko gave himself a mental slap as he closed his eyes with a sigh. _He heard everything._

"Well…are you all right?" Aang asked as he approached tentatively.

"Yeah…" Zuko placed a hand over his still stinging cheek as he turned to face the water. Then he mumbled, "I think I deserved that." _She went easy on me, actually…considering we're standing right next to a stream._ He sat down and wrapped his arms around his knees.

Aang came and sat beside him. "So…where will you go from here?"

"I don't know, but…I have no desire to capture you anymore, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Oh." The airbender was definitely relieved to hear that. Curious, he asked, "Why?"

Zuko tossed a pebble into the water as he reflected upon that question. "Back in Ba Sing Se, I thought I got what I wanted. My honor…my home… I should have been happy. But instead, I was miserable. Even though I was living in the palace and had servants attending to my every need…somehow I think I actually felt better when I was working in a teashop…or even when I was on the run. I tried to believe that I'd regained my honor like Azula said, but…I didn't really feel it. She had been lying, of course, but that's beside the point. And now…I don't know what I want anymore."

"Do you believe in fate?" Aang asked unexpectedly.

Zuko just looked at him but didn't reply.

"Think about it," the monk continued. "You had to choose sides in Ba Sing Se, right? If you had chosen to help us back then, you would obviously be here with us right now. But even though you sided with the Fire Nation, you STILL ended up here. So…don't you think that life's pointing you in a certain direction? That this is where you're supposed to be?"

Zuko contemplated on the boy's words. On some level, it did seem to make sense.

"It was the same for me," Aang said as he recalled the difficult choices he had been presented with. "I learned that in order to gain the power I require, I had to give up on…certain things. I didn't want to and tried to hold on to it. I took a bit of a detour, but eventually, I had to let it go all the same. Because I am the Avatar…It's my duty." He picked up a pebble and tossed it into the stream, the memory weighing him down.

But moments later, a small smile returned to his face. "Well, that's what I thought at first anyway, and I was sad. But you know what? Ever since, I feel like I can think so much more clearly and…feel the cosmic energy." He wiggled his fingers in the air for emphasis. "And I realized that I'd been trying to hold on to something that wasn't meant to be. Like I was going against the flow. But now, things are starting to fall into place."

Zuko frowned, unconvinced. "So you're saying we should just resign ourselves to fate?"

Aang shrugged. "Not really. There's a yin and yang to everything that needs to balance out. So, I think our fates and our wills should balance each other as well. We should try to make our own destiny, but not force it against all the signs that life gives us along the way." He gave a sheepish laugh and scratched the back of his neck. "It's hard to explain. I talk like I know everything, but I'm really just starting to figure this stuff out myself."

Zuko thought it strange that he and Aang were actually having this conversation. Yet, it didn't feel entirely unnatural. Now that he had established to himself that he wasn't going to capture the airbender anymore, talking to him wasn't so bad. After all, Zuko never had anything personal against the boy. He just unfortunately happened to be the Avatar.

Zuko couldn't sense any hatred or wariness from Aang. From their interactions, he could tell that the boy had already forgiven everything he ever did or tried to do to him. It was as though none of it ever happened. Forgotten. The prince thought it intriguing how the boy seemed to be an embodiment of both wisdom and innocence at the same time. Perhaps even somewhat inspiring.

"So what do you say?" Aang's question cut into his thoughts. "Join me?"

Zuko gave a heavy sigh. "Do you know what you're asking of me? By joining you, I will be turning against my father. I don't necessarily agree with him, but going against him is something I'm not sure I'm prepared to do." Then more solemnly, he added, "I'm not like him. Family means something to me."

Aang looked down with a sad smile. "I understand." He got up and began heading back to camp.

"Aang."

The boy halted. It didn't escape his notice that this was the first time the prince called him by his name.

Still facing the stream, Zuko said, "Give me some time."

Aang perked up. For now, that was enough.

* * *

The next day, the group decided it was time for them to head out again. Since the ostrich horse won't be able to keep up with Appa's speed, the plan was for Zuko to take it to the next town and sell it, and the rest of them will meet him there. 

Everyone was packed and ready to go. Just as Aang was about to snap Appa's reins, a thought occurred to him. "Maybe someone should go with Zuko just in case something happens. He's recovering, and he still can't bend."

The Water Tribe siblings exchanged looks.

"I kinda hope he falls into a ditch somewhere," Sokka said.

Katara shrugged. "I certainly wouldn't miss him."

Iroh merely shook his head with a small sigh. _You reap what you sow, dear nephew._

Zuko grumbled in annoyance for being underestimated. He had been able to get by just fine on his own without the luxury of firebending so far. He certainly didn't need any assistance now. But before he could protest, someone unexpectedly volunteered.

"Ooh, ooh! I wanna ride the ostrich horse!" Toph exclaimed, excited as she hopped off of Appa and went over to the other beast. Earthbending a pillar beneath her, she climbed on behind Zuko.

Sokka's jaws dropped. "Toph! Are you crazy?!"

"What? I've always wanted to ride one of these things," she explained. "And I prefer to be closer to solid ground whenever possible, thank you."

"Yeah, but…but…that's Zuko! ZUKO!!" The Water Tribe boy pointed at the prince for emphasis.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at Sokka. As much of a fool Sokka was making of himself with his incoherent reasoning, the insult was there all the same.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry," the earthbender said casually. "I'll look out for Sparky if anything should happen." Then giving Zuko a pat on the shoulder, "All right then, let's go!"

The prince grunted, not sure if he liked the arrangement.

Then in a lower voice, Toph said, "No, seriously. Let's go, or he'll talk all day."

"I think I can agree to that." Zuko snapped his reins and they were off.

Toph grinned. "See you later, Snoozles!"

"What?! Hey! Get back here!" Sokka yelled after them, earning himself a laugh from Iroh while Katara placed her hand on her forehead, feeling embarrassed for him.

"Let it go, Sokka" Aang said. "Toph can take care of herself."

"What?!" Sokka replied, exasperated. "But that's Zuko! ZUKO!!"

Aang sighed and turned back around, ignoring his friend. "Appa, yip yip!"

* * *

Toph was definitely enjoying herself. "This is fun!" she laughed. 

"Where are we going exactly?" Zuko asked.

"To some small island down south. We figured an isolated place would be good for the final stretch of Aang's training. And it'd be easier to guard. Anyone who approaches will have to come on ship. If we spot a ship, we'll just take off on Appa. Easy as pie."

The prince frowned. "What do you mean 'final stretch'?"

"Oh, he just gotta be done before summer's end so he can take on the big guy at the next solar eclipse," she explained, nonchalant.

Zuko was surprised by her words, but even more so by the way she was giving him this kind of sensitive information as though she was discussing the weather. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Cuz you asked, you dork. If you decide to turn on us, we'll just have to kill you." She shrugged. "No biggie."

"What?!" he exclaimed indignantly.

"Oh, no!" Toph suddenly gasped with urgency in her voice, her attention now elsewhere. "Look over there!" She pointed somewhere off to her right.

Zuko turned his attention to where she was pointing. "What? What's there?"

The blind girl shrugged. "You tell me. You're the one with eyes here."

He glared back at her and grumbled.

Toph only laughed in response. "Lighten up, Sparky! It's a loooooooong journey ahead." Then she perked up. "Hey! Let's go faster!"

"No," Zuko replied sternly. "You'll wear out the beast."

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. Where's your sense of adventure? I wanna go FASTER!" That said, she smacked the ostrich horse's backside and it took off at a gallop.

Zuko's eyes widened at the sudden jerk and change in speed, cursing under his breath as he grasped the reins tightly to catch himself before he lost balance.

Toph in turn wrapped her arms around his waist tightly to keep herself from getting bounced off, laughing with exhilaration the entire time. "Woohoo!! Now, THAT'S what I'm talking about!"

* * *

Zuko dismounted when they finally reached the town, never thinking he'd be so happy to have his feet touch the ground again. When he regained his composure, he complained. "Do you have a death wish or something?! We nearly ran off the damn cliff! Twice!" _Sokka would have been thrilled!_

"I knew you could handle it, Sparky," Toph replied, still laughing as she jumped off the saddle. "I trusted in your ostrich horse steering abilities."

Zuko merely huffed as he grasped for the reins and started walking the ostrich horse into town. They ended up walking around for quite some time, making several stops at various shops before they were finally able to find someone who was willing to buy the animal. By then, they no longer cared about the sale price as long as they could get the job done and move on.

As they walked away from the buyer, Toph asked, "How much did we make?"

Zuko looked at the coins in his hand. "Not much, but it's better than nothing, I suppose."

"All right, here's the deal," Toph said as she folded her arms. "Since we did all the work here selling your pet, it's only fair that we treat ourselves to something instead of just using all the money to buy supplies, wouldn't you agree?" She grinned as she thought of the perfect thing and tapped Zuko's arm lightly with the back of her hand. "Come on, Sparky. Let's go find ourselves some rock candy!" She took off before giving Zuko a chance to argue.

"Hey, wait!" The prince rolled his eyes and followed reluctantly. The girl seemed to be more trouble than help.

After asking around a few times, the earthbender finally found the rock candy vendor and bought herself a small paper bag of it. Popping a piece in her mouth, she gave a contented smile. Then she grabbed another piece and held it out to Zuko. "Here."

Zuko looked upon the piece of candy with a certain amount of scrutiny then looked back up at the girl unenthusiastically. "I don't want any."

"It's my treat."

"That was _my_ ostrich horse we sold," he reminded her evenly.

Toph shrugged, unperturbed. "All the more reason for you to reap the benefits, right?"

Zuko mulled that over a bit then accepted the offer. This was the first time he had rock candy. Even though they looked like weird colored crystals, he found that they actually didn't taste that bad. Without asking, he reached into Toph's bag and took a few more pieces.

"Hey!" Toph protested with a frown. "Don't take 'em all!"

Zuko popped another into his mouth. "_My_ ostrich horse."

Toph could only smirk in amusement as the two of them continued down the market street, using the rest of the money to buy "real" food supplies. As they were about to leave the town, however, she furrowed her brows. "Let's take a detour," she said quietly. "We're being followed."

Catching on to her serious mood, Zuko agreed without question. After walking past a few more buildings, they disappeared into an alleyway.

From behind a vendor's cart not too far away, a pink clad bouncy girl jumped out into the middle of the street, straining her neck left and right. "Oops. Lost them."

* * *

She entered the teahouse and went up the stairs to the second floor where she knew her friend was waiting for her. Scanning the room, Ty Lee beamed when she spotted Mai sitting at a table in the far back corner. 

"So?" Mai asked, one hand holding up her chin while the other one was twirling a chopstick between her fingers to cure boredom.

Ty Lee shrugged as she sat down. "They gave me the slip. But it was just Zuko and the earthbender girl. I didn't see anyone else."

"They probably split up."

"So, what do we do?" The cheerful girl asked as she began spinning a plate on a chopstick.

Mai sighed. "What else? Keep on their trail. Not like we have anything better to do anyway."

* * *

Zuko and Toph met up with the others outside of town. 

"What took you so long?" Sokka asked in annoyance.

"Quit your bellyaching already," Toph said as she climbed onto Appa.

Aang helped Zuko with the supplies then pulled him aboard as well. "Any news or information?"

The prince shook his head. "Not much. Just that an unusual number of Fire Nation troops passed by recently, heading north."

"What do you suppose that means?" Aang asked.

"It's hardly enough information to draw any conclusions on," Zuko replied.

"In any case, we better keep moving," Toph interjected. "I think we may have been followed."

Aang nodded and returned to his place atop Appa's head. At his command, the giant bison took to the sky.

* * *

A/N: I would have uploaded this sooner, but I kept getting that "high traffic" error message. Anyway, not much to say this time around. Reviews appreciated! Thanks for reading! 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The group had traveled another three relatively uneventful days. Most of their traveling was done in the sky, but whenever they spot a suitable place for resting, they would land and stretch their legs, allowing Appa to rest. By now, both Aang and Zuko's bending abilities have returned, so Aang would use this time to practice earthbending with Toph, then waterbending with Katara while Iroh observed with interest. Zuko, finding himself with nothing better to do, would sometimes watch as well, though with more discretion. Other times he would meditate on his own. Sokka, the only non-bender, would busy himself with tasks such as hunting, sharpening his tools, and grooming Appa while the others engrossed themselves in their "magic." When break time ends, they'd once again take to the sky. And when night draws near, they would seek a site to set up camp. Such was the general routine the group had fallen into.

It was now sunset, and Zuko was eating his dinner alone away from everyone else like most times. Then again, he really wasn't exactly alone. Momo was with him. The lemur had developed a habit of sitting beside the prince during meals and just looking up at him as though he was expecting something. Why? Because there was something to be expected.

Zuko glanced at his tiny companion who only stared back up at him with blinking eyes. The boy then dug around his bowl until he found that night's stew surprise. Picking it up with is fingers, he studied it for a moment before passing it off to Momo. "Here you go," he said in monotone. "This time it's a grasshopper fly larva."

He watched Momo chomp away at his prize then resumed eating himself. It used to bother him to eat food knowing that a live something or other had just been swimming in it. But after about the fifth time, he became desensitized. "There sure are a lot of bugs out here in the wild," he mused with a heavy sigh.

When Zuko was finished with his food, Momo grabbed his empty bowl and ran off, disappearing behind the bushes to take it back to camp. The service was the lemur's idea of a fair trade for the insect.

After lingering a while longer, Zuko decided that he, too, should return to camp. As he turned around, he saw Katara leaning up against a tree not too far away with her arms crossed, just watching him.

No. Staring at him might be a better description.

Actually…scratch that as well. Trying to glare him to death was more like it.

The Water Tribe siblings had been watching Zuko's every move. Constantly. Needless to say, the prince was feeling just a tad bit annoyed. "Can I help you with something?"

"You? Help? That would be a first," she scoffed.

"Then would you mind stop staring at me? It's disturbing."

"Hate to break it to you, but liars lose their rights to demand such things, Your Highness." Katara noted once again the hurtful expression that flashed across his features.

Zuko looked away. "I see. So you're doing that 'watching me' thing your brother won't shut up about."

Katara didn't answer, but that was exactly what she was doing. In truth, she was secretly hoping that he would pull some sort of attack. That way, she would have an excuse to get rid of him. But much to her disappointment, nothing of that nature had come to pass.

"Will you give it a rest already?!" he said, getting more irritable. "I haven't done anything suspicious this whole time, have I?"

"That doesn't really say a whole lot, seeing as how you tend to _change_ so often."

Internally, Zuko was pulling his hair out in frustration. All right, so he brought this on himself. But hadn't he been sucking it up and keeping quiet so far? There was only so much he could take, no matter how guilty he felt.

The prince stormed up to the waterbender. "I've had just about enough of you," he hissed. "What more do you want from me? I've apologized. And with the steady diet of insects you've been TRYING to feed me, I'd say that more than makes us even."

Katara's eyes widened as her hands flew up to suppress the sudden laugh that was about to escape her lips. _Oh, so he knew about that…_ Straightening up with her head held high, she smirked defiantly in his face. "Extra protein. It's good for you."

Zuko scowled. "Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"Well, our fight at Ba Sing Se _did_ end a bit prematurely," she said, not backing away.

He narrowed his eyes. "If I win, you leave me alone."

She mirrored his expression. "If _I_ win, you leave altogether!"

As soon as the terms were made, the two of them jumped right into it.

Zuko summoned the fire from within, intent on gaining an advantage by dealing the first blow. Katara, however, beat him to the punch. Swiftly uncorking her waterskin without her opponent's notice, she forced him back with a blast of water to the chest. Calling the liquid back to her, Katara's body whirled around once with the momentum before launching a series of water whip attacks.

Zuko back flipped away to put some distance between himself and the waterbender. He'd fought her enough times to know how far her water whip would reach using just the amount of water from her waterskin. He was careful to remain at a constant distance that was just barely out of her reach, moving back a step whenever she advanced and stepping forth to the beat of her retreat, never allowing her near him, forcing her to use the whip to try to reach him.

Zuko quickly memorized the rhythm of Katara's attacks. As she made her fourth strike of the water whip, stretching it out towards him again, Zuko dodged it and closed the distance between them with lightning speed. Caught off guard in mid strike, Katara was unable to switch to defense in time.

Zuko went on the offense, throwing a continuous string of flame-laced strikes, pushing her back until suddenly, he found his right foot unable to move. Sparing a moment to look down, he realized Katara had somehow managed to encase his foot in ice, locking it in place to the ground.

Taking advantage of the firebender's distraction, Katara wrapped the rest of her water around both of her forearms, freezing them into blade-like icicles with a sharp edge running along the inside length of her arms, coming to a point at the end of her fingertips. The distraction lasted but a few seconds, but that was all the time she needed. By the time Zuko looked back up, her arms were already swinging in like a pair of scissors, aiming to snip off his head.

Zuko back flipped not a fraction of a second too soon in evasion. As his feet came up, they hooked themselves under Katara's arms, picking her up along the way and tossing her over.

Katara was now lying on her back with the wind knocked out of her. Zuko straddled her, his knees pinning her arms to her sides, his flaming fist held mere inches from her face. She was panting hard and could barely see through the flames, but she had no doubt he must have been wearing a smug look on his features by now.

With the flames so close, the heat was nearly unbearable. Katara turned her head to the side. "All right, all right! You win." Grudgingly, she admitted defeat.

Zuko smirked. "That's what I thought." He got to his feet and began to walk away, releasing her from her prison. "The sun has set, the moon is out, and still you were defeated," he said casually. "Seems you're losing your touch, waterbender."

"Why, you arrogant…!" Katara mumbled as she scrambled to her feet, steaming with anger. "I want a rematch!!" she yelled after him.

Zuko stopped, his smirk still on his face. "Tomorrow. Same time." That said, he left.

Katara seethed some more as she kicked a rock in attempt to relieve her frustration. _Losing my touch, am I? Well, I'll show YOU, you stupid, arrogant, firebending CREEP!_ After dealing a second kick to another unfortunate rock, she stomped off in the opposite direction.

When both benders disappeared, Toph stepped into the clearing. With all that rumbling those two were generating in the earth, it was hard for her _not_ to notice. With her arms folded and a sly grin on her face, the earthbender had but one decision to make: Which one should she mess with?

While it was tempting to go after Katara to point and laugh in her face for losing so quickly to the one she despised so much, Toph decided to trail after Zuko instead. After all, there hasn't been a dull moment since the banished prince joined their merry little gang. Even though Toph didn't care much one way or the other about Zuko to begin with, the fact that all the people around her had such strong feelings about him, dividing at polar opposites, did appeal to her curiosity.

When she caught up with him, he was perched on a rock beside a cliff, brooding. "Why so glum?" she asked, her voice a little too cheerful to seem consoling. "You won, didn't you?"

Zuko spared a glance her way. "What? You want a fight, too?"

Toph grinned. "No. Not today." She had to admit she did feel just a wee bit sorry for him, remember the hard time she had adjusting to the group in the beginning as well. The poor guy was having such trouble dealing with the Water Tribe siblings. They weren't taking to him very well, for obvious reasons. But for Toph, it was easy enough to "see" that there wasn't anything truly menacing about the clump of depression sitting before her.

"Hey, Sparky. Did you know that people can lie with the things they say and do, but their heartbeats always tell the truth?" she began conversationally as she summoned a stool from the earth to sit on. "I can tell how someone feels or if he's telling the truth just from the way his heart beats."

Zuko just looked at her with a confused frown, unsure where this topic came from. "How?" he asked, despite himself.

"With vibrations through the earth. When your heart pumps, the pulsing carries through the earth to a certain degree. If I pay attention, I can pick it up with my feet." She raised a foot and wiggled her toes.

"That's rather unbelievable," he said, skeptical.

"What can I say," Toph shrugged. "I'm an earthbending genius. I make the impossible possible."

He still couldn't figure out where she was going with this. "And so?"

"And sooo…I can tell you're not scheming some evil plot or anything like that. You're more…confused and agitated." She waved a casual hand in the air.

"Excuse me?"

She nodded to herself thoughtfully, chin in hand. "Yeah…something like…clueless."

"What?!" Zuko exclaimed, more indignant this time.

"You don't know what the heck you're doing," she continued listing off casually, ignoring his outburst.

He was rather baffled by what he was hearing.

"You're walking around in a haze." She was on a role and thoroughly enjoying the moment. "You're so lost you can hardly tell which way is up."

"Listen, you!" Now Zuko was really beginning to get mad. He wasn't just going to sit there and let his ego get stabbed with pinpoint accuracy without doing anything about it. "If you came here just to—"

Toph held up a hand in the universal stop sign, cutting him off. "I'm JUST trying to say…I believe you."

Zuko was stunned and speechless as he tried to process what just happened. Did she really say what he thought she said?

"So they say you have a big o' scar on your face," she said after a brief pause, upbeat and nonchalant as ever.

Zuko felt like he had been thrown into a little whirlwind, and his brain had to really work at it in order to keep up with her pace. When her words finally registered, he narrowed his eyes slightly, growing suspicious again. "What of it?"

"Just curious," the earthbender shrugged. "Mind if I see it?"

"What? No!" the prince responded reflexively. "I mean…how?" His mood switched from being defensive to being confused in a flash.

"Like this," she said, and she was standing in front of him with his face cupped in her hands before he knew it.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded as he tried to pull away, but she held him firmly in place

"Shh! Don't move." She began moving both of her hands up his cheeks until her fingers grazed the scarred tissue around his eye.

Under the moonlight, Zuko could see her brows furrowing ever so slightly when she came in contact with the scar. The prince certainly wasn't the most comfortable with his current situation, but the gentleness with which this child was touching his face somehow prevented him from simply pushing her away and bolting.

Toph's fingers moved slowly over his cheekbones, back to his ears, up his temples, and over his forehead, reading his features with her hands. Then her thumbs traced lightly down the bridge of his nose to sweep across the bottom of his eyes. Cupping his cheeks in her palms again, she rubbed her right thumb delicately over his scar. "Does it still hurt?"

"It's a scar," he replied, deadpan. "It doesn't hurt."

Toph paused a moment as if to consider his words. "Tsk, tsk… What did I just tell you about heartbeats and lies, hmm, Sparky?" She pinched his cheeks. Hard. The firebender's indignant growl only made her grin and chuckle. She was certain he would have frowned if not for her tight grip on his cheeks.

To her surprise, Zuko returned her pinch, matching her strength. She yelped at first, realizing it wasn't quite as fun to be at the receiving end. But eventually, the absurdity of what they were doing only made her laugh harder.

Seeing this, even Zuko had to smile a little. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the earthbender. She was exhausting at times, though not entirely unpleasant. She seemed to thrive on irritating him, but her cheeky attitude was somewhat refreshing. Idly, Zuko wondered if this might be akin to what it would be like if one were to have a little sister who was _not_ a sadistic maniac.

* * *

Iroh raised the cup to his lips to take another sip of his tea while, behind the cup, his eyes moved steadily from left to right then back to the left again, trailing the waterbender who was pacing restlessly before him. From the look on her face, the old man could tell that the girl wanted to speak with him about something. But after walking over fifty circles in front of him, she still hadn't made up her mind one way or the other. Although Iroh considered himself to be a relatively patient man, his eyes were definitely getting tired. "Katara, you seem a little…troubled. Perhaps I can be of service?" 

Katara looked over at Iroh, unaware that he had been watching her this entire time. Heaving a sigh, she went over to sit by the campfire across from him. She was still irate from losing her match, but what really nagged at her was that melancholic look she'd seen twice now in that arrogant prince's eyes. She had ignored it both times, but now she was beginning to doubt herself. Was she wrong? It wasn't that she cared much about Zuko, but she'd hate to be wrong.

She looked over at Iroh, who seemed to be patiently waiting for her to gather her thoughts, then looked away again with a sigh as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Zuko had said once…that the Fire Nation took his mother away…"

The old firebender arched a surprising brow. "Did he now?" This was most unexpected, since his nephew never spoke of his mother. Iroh always tried to avoid mentioning her name in Zuko's presence, knowing the painful memories it would stir up. Returning his attention to the girl before him, he said, "But I'm afraid if you would like to know more about that, you will have to ask him."

Katara shook her head, her eyes downcast. "No… I only wish for you to confirm for me. Is that the truth? Or did he lie to me?"

"I see…" Iroh took another sip of his tea then nodded in understanding. "Well, dear Katara. Unfortunately for my nephew, that is indeed the truth."

Katara grasped at her mother's pendant around her neck, suddenly feeling guilty for accusing Zuko of fabricating that story to prey on her trust, remembering that look in his eyes.

This, of course, did not go unnoticed. Iroh didn't know exactly what had happened between his nephew and the waterbender, but he thought he probably had a pretty good idea. "After you get to know him, you will find that my nephew," he shook his head with a small chuckle, "is a terrible liar."

The old man looked inward as he recalled a distant past. "I remember once, it was before the siege on Ba Sing Se and Zuko was still a young child, coming back from his training, he passed by the banquet hall where the servants were preparing food and decorations for his father's birthday celebration. Hungry and tired, he was captivated by the very appetizing birthday cake that had been set out on the table. He went and cut a slice for himself when he thought no one was watching." Iroh grinned at Katara. "But I was there, and I saw it all. He hid it behind his back when he saw me approaching, a huge cream-covered grin on his face. When I asked him who took a piece of the cake, he just gave his most innocent shrug. So I said, 'It's a shame that person's not around, because I would like to know if the cake's any good myself.' At that, his eyes brightened and he said, 'Oh, it's delicious, Uncle! Here, try it!' And he produced the half-eaten slice he'd been hiding behind his back." Iroh laughed with another shake of the head. "I'll never forget the embarrassed and panicked look on his face when he realized his blunder."

Although it was difficult for her to imagine Zuko as a bright-eyed innocent child, Katara gave a half-hearted smile, recognizing the old man's efforts in trying to brighten her mood. "Did he get into trouble?" she asked politely. "I won't be surprised if heads rolled for that stunt."

"Nobody noticed because Zuko and I patched the cake up with the extra frosting I had from the royal kitchen. We did a splendid job, if I do say so myself. It was good as new!" he beamed proudly.

Katara cocked a questioning brow. "Was it your job to oversee such things? Seems odd for someone of your status."

Iroh laughed. "Oh, no, my dear. I wasn't there to oversee anything. I was there to get a piece of cake for myself as well. Why else do you think I would be carrying extra frosting around with me?"

At that, Katara had to laugh, all the while wondering if this man truly was the fearsome Dragon of the West.

* * *

A/N: OK, I'm done with the bugs, I swear. Haha! Fight sequences are difficult. Some feedback on whether or not the Zuko vs. Katara bit was understandable would be nice. Reviews appreciated! Many thanks for reading! 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The group was now traveling on foot, which they had decided to do every now and then. It made for a nice change of pace and lessened the burden for Appa. Most importantly, they hoped it would help to throw off anyone who might be trying to track them through the air. Currently, Zuko and Aang were walking in the lead with Toph and Katar a bit behind them. Iroh and Appa were at the rear with a sleeping Sokka tucked in Appa's saddle.

"…and so we ended up zigzagging all over the place before we finally found Kyoshi Island where the elephant koi were," Aang explained, getting excited about the memory of riding those giant fish.

Zuko ran a hand down his face. "I should have known," he mumbled with a hint of irritation. "I don't know what possessed me into ever believing you were a master of evasive maneuvering when the truth was you simply had no idea where you were going."

Aang laughed. "I had just woken up from a hundred-year slumber. What did you expect?" Comparing notes and reminiscing the chase and run days neither of them would care to repeat had become the two boys' choice of pastime as of late. The fact that they could talk about it so casually…in Zuko's case, analytically… told Aang they had definitely put that past behind them and were taking a step in the right direction. "All right, here's something I never figured out. What in the world were you doing in the eye of that huge storm in the middle of the ocean?" But when he looked over, the prince appeared as though he was lost in thought and most likely didn't hear his question. "Hey, Zuko!"

Zuko snapped out of his reverie, but the frown was still on his face. Something had been bugging him for a while now. "Aang, I see you practicing waterbending and earthbending quite a bit, but I can't help but notice you're not firebending at all. Did you not speak with my uncle?"

"I did," the young monk replied, trying to sound as natural as possible. "But he thinks there's someone else better suited for the task." He gave Zuko a sideways glance, curious what his reaction might be.

"Is that so?" the prince said, keeping his eyes on the road, thoughts focusing inward once more. He knew this someone else was most likely himself, but he wasn't even a master, yet. What could his uncle be thinking? More importantly, was Iroh trying to make him choose?

At this point, Zuko was beginning to get an uneasy sensation, like he could feel someone's eyes on him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Katara, who had in fact been watching him…glaring at him, promptly turn her head to the side. The prince couldn't help but smirk contently to himself.

Katara silently berated herself for getting caught. She hated that look he gave her. That 'I won so you can't bother me anymore' look. That 'I'm here and you can't do anything about it' look. That 'I know you hate me but you have to put up with me and I'm loving every second of it' look. She huffed in frustration and mumbled incoherently under her breath.

"Are you all right, Sweetness?" came Toph's relaxed voice from beside her. "What are you grumbling about?"

Katara turned her head sharply to face the earthbender and all but hissed, "How can you stand him?!"

Toph arched a brow, her teeth playing with the straw in her mouth. "Who? Sparky?"

The waterbender furrowed her brows even more at the nickname. "And how can you be so friendly with him?! I just don't get it!"

Toph shrugged and folded her hands behind her head. "I like him. He's fun."

Katara couldn't even begin to fathom how Zuko translates to fun. "He's a pompous jerk."

"He's not really that bad. He's just sort of…" Toph tilted her head a little as she tried to think of the right description. "…half asleep." A devious grin spread across her face. "I just looooove messing with him."

"What?" Katara frowned, unable to comprehend.

"See, that's where you have problems. You just don't know how to have fun. Observe." Toph spit out the straw she had been chewing on and picked up her pace to catch up with the pair ahead.

"Toph! Wait!" Katara called after her friend with a strained whisper, but her words fell on deaf ears.

Toph wedged herself between the two boys with an urgent look on her features. Turning her head up she pointed to the sky. "Look out!"

Zuko turned to look, then immediately cursed himself for falling for the same dumb trick again. "Will you stop doing that?!"

The blind girl folded her arms and smiled smugly. "I can't help it if you're dense."

"I fell for that one a couple of times, too," Aang laughed.

"So, since you lost, Sparky, now you have to do something for me," Toph stated as though it was the most reasonable thing to do.

"That wasn't even a competition," Zuko argued evenly.

Toph only snorted to that. "You fell for the most basic trick in the book. I consider that a loss."

Zuko narrowed his eyes irritably at her, despite the fact that she couldn't see it.

"Oh, come on," Toph continued. "It's nothing difficult or embarrassing or anything like that. I'm starting to get a bit tired, so I just want to hitch a ride on your back for a while, that's all." A sly grin made its way to her lips.

"You will do no such thing!" Zuko exclaimed with dignity.

"Don't be such a sore loser," she said as she tried to walk around to his back. "Trust me, it's not that bad."

Zuko kept turning to keep his back away from Toph, unable to believe how quickly he got sucked into another one of her bizarre whirlwinds again.

The earthbender continued to circle the prince with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. But soon she slowed and eventually came to a stop. Frowning slightly, she said, "Wait…I feel something." She crouched down and placed her palm on the ground.

"What is it?" Aang asked, suddenly worried.

"Shh!" She cocked her head and knitted her brows in concentration. Then getting back to her feet, she said, "We better hurry. I recognize that rumbling. Azula's nearby."

"What?! Where?!" the two boys echoed each other.

"That way," she said, a concerned frown still on her face as she pointed behind the boys.

When both boys turned, Toph saw her opening and jumped onto Zuko's back, locking her arms around his neck. "You really are gullible, Sparky," she laughed.

"Why you little… Get off!" The frustrated prince tried to pry her off, but for someone so small, she had an amazingly strong grip and simply wouldn't budge.

Toph yawned. "I'm bushed. Goodnight!" She closed her eyes, dropped her head, and immediately began snoring loudly.

Zuko was literally breathing fire by now. He threw a glare at Aang. "Get this THING off of me!"

Aang gave an apologetic laugh. "Sorry, Zuko. Toph's probably even more stubborn than you are. If she wants to do something, nobody can stop her. Seems she's really bent on hitching a ride."

"Then I just won't move," Zuko grumbled as he folded his arms. "We're not going anywhere until you let go, you hear me?!" He couldn't believe what he was doing. He couldn't believe what he was saying. He knew full well how childish this whole thing was, but it was like the girl was contagious and he couldn't help but respond in kind.

Aang tried not to laugh out loud as the scowling prince stood rooted to the ground with folded arms while Toph draped down his back, her feet dangling. As far as the young monk was concerned, this was probably one of the strangest and most amusing sights he had ever seen.

Toph made no response. In fact, her breathing became more even, and her obnoxious snores died down to a more natural and quiet one.

Aang raised a brow. "Maybe she actually did fall asleep."

Zuko only deepened his frown. He wasn't buying it this time.

Then Toph's grip began to loosen, and she started to slowly slip lower and lower down his back. Eventually, she let go and began to fall, but Zuko reached back and caught her before she hit the ground. With a push, he had her back up on his back, her arms wrapping around his neck and holding on instinctively.

Zuko sighed, exasperated at himself for giving in. Why should he even bother to worry about her falling? It wasn't like she, an earthbending master, would have been hurt.

With her eyes still closed, Toph chuckled lightly behind him and said in a quiet voice, "I love riding things."

The prince grumbled. "I'm not an ostrich horse." That only earned him another laugh. "You're lucky you're still just a child, or I would have burned you down to ashes," he added, though the anger in his voice had already dissipated.

Toph smiled to herself. "I'll keep that in mind." When Zuko didn't protest anymore and began to walk, she turned to Aang and flashed her victory grin.

Behind them, Katara's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "Surprised" and "shocked" couldn't adequately describe the incredible disbelief she was experiencing at that moment.

Iroh laughed as he caught up to the waterbender who seemed to be stunned frozen in place. "A charming little rascal, isn't she? Seems even my nephew can't resist her."

"I just can't believe that arrogant jerk is being so…docile about it," Katara said, still somewhat dumbfounded.

The old firebender chuckled. "He's probably not as unhappy about it as he may seem." Stroking his beard, Iroh mused about how his nephew had developed the habit of putting on a front, shielding his true self away. However, Toph, though blind to things on the surface, had the ability to see what was underneath. On some level, it must make Zuko very uncomfortable. At the same time, her acceptance despite the fact that she could see him was probably like a breath of fresh air to him. It was a show of faith that the boy rarely received. "Toph does seem to have an interesting effect on him," Iroh said. After another moment's thought, he added, "So does Aang. Even you."

Katara cocked an unconvincing brow. "Me? What sort of effect?"

"I'm not sure," Iroh said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Only time will tell."

* * *

"REMATCH!" He lay on his back panting, not believing the outcome. He tried to retain as much dignity in his features as possible as she stood over him in full gloating mode. Sitting up, Zuko checked the gash on his right arm. _Damn icicles…_

She got him good though, he couldn't argue. Which was precisely the reason why it was so irritating. But that wasn't to say she was completely flawless. He frowned in thought. "You should guard your left side more. You leave it way too open for attack."

Katara raised a disbelieving brow, a hand on her hip. _Is he actually giving me advice?_ "Are you sure it's wise to be giving me pointers? I _did_ just win, if you recall."

Zuko shrugged as casually as he could muster. "It will make for a more interesting rematch."

Katara kneeled beside him and held out her hands, her features unreadable. "Let me see your arm."

Zuko gave her a distrusting look. He wasn't about to simply comply with whatever she said.

Tired of waiting, the waterbender pulled his arm forward with one hand and began healing his wound with the other.

Zuko jerked his arm away from her, narrowing his eyes. "I don't need your healing. I can take care of it myself."

With a smug grin on her face, Katara reached out for his arm once more and continued with her work. "I just don't want you to have any excuses when I defeat you again." When the prince glared, her grin widened. She leaned in challengingly. "I'll take you up on that rematch. Tomorrow. Same time. Until then, I'd appreciate it if you don't speak to me at all." Finished healing by now, she got to her feet and simply walked away.

Zuko let out an exasperated breath of flames, seething in silence. _Damn infuriating waterbending peasant!_

* * *

"All right, people," Sokka said, getting everyone's attention in an impromptu high-altitude meeting in Appa's saddle as he rolled up the map he had been studying. "We're out of supplies, and we have no money. There's a mid-sized town not too far from here. I think we should stop there for a few days, earn some money, and get more supplies. Any objections?" 

The Water Tribe boy looked at everyone in turn. They didn't seem too pleased about what he had said, but at least nobody was complaining. Not even Zuko. Sokka had thought for certain that angry jerk would protest, being the spoiled prince that he was. However, Zuko remained surprisingly silent. "Well…good." Turning towards Appa's head, he yelled over the winds. "Aang! Did you hear that?!"

"Yep! I'm on it!" the monk replied as he tugged on Appa's reins. "Take us down, boy!"

They landed in a wooded area near the outskirts of the town where Appa and Momo could wait for them. Before taking off, Aang gave the giant bison a loving hug. "We'll be back soon, buddy. Stay out of trouble." He put on the straw hat Katara had dug out for him to hide his tattoo with and went to catch up with his friends.

"We're pretty high profile right now, especially after Iroh's rescue," Sokka said as the group got closer to the town. "If we walk in all together, we'll definitely scream 'Avatar group'. Let's split up into pairs. That way we can still watch each other's backs without drawing too much attention to ourselves."

"Good idea, Snoozles," Toph said. "It's been a while since you and I spent some quality time together so, let's go." She tugged on his wrist and dragged him off to the left. "See you guys later!" she said as she waved her other arm in the air.

Iroh and Aang exchanged looks.

Feeling a bit helpless, Sokka shrugged and waved as well. "We'll meet back at Appa's tonight!"

"Hey, Aang," Katara began. "Let's—"

"AAHH!" Aang exclaimed as he held up his index finger, cutting off Katara before she could say what he knew she was going to say. "I…umm…Well, Iroh and I have this great idea for what we're going to do. Right, Iroh?"

"Yes," the old firebender responded, not missing a beat. "It will be perfect for the two of us. Let us be on our way, Aang," he said with a big smile.

"Right," the boy nodded. "So, we'll see you guys later. Good luck! And don't forget to watch each other's backs like Sokka said!" With that, he and the old man headed to the right.

Katara huffed in speechless frustration at being the one stuck with Zuko, who only gave her a half-bored glance and continued forward. Reluctantly, she followed.

* * *

The streets were filled with people, and the town was bustling with activity. Though trying to take in the sights, Iroh did not miss the look on the young Avatar's face. "What troubles you, my boy?" 

Aang scratched the back of his neck, uncertainty written all over his face. "Well…do you think it was a bad idea to force those two to pair up? I hope Katara's not mad at me. But more importantly, do you think they'll be all right?"

"I believe there are two likely outcomes," Iroh stated. "One: they kill each other."

The airbender winced.

"Two: they get to a point where they can at least be somewhat civil around one another, and the rest of us can finally get some peace." It wasn't that Zuko and Katara bickered constantly…in fact they avoided each other if at all possible…but the silent tension was at times overbearing and more than enough to make those around them rather uncomfortable.

"I really, really hope it's the latter. What am I supposed to do if my waterbending master and my firebending master hopeful were to take each other out?!" The boy was beginning to panic.

"If we let them continue as they are, it will likely come down to that anyway," the old man reasoned calmly. "It's well worth the risk," he said with a smile.

Aang sighed and slumped his shoulders dejectedly as he mumbled to himself. "How am I supposed to bring peace and harmony to the world when I can't even achieve harmony within my own team?" He knew they all had to get along before they could truly function as a team. All Aang could do now was pray to the spirits and hope that things will go well.

"Ah, here's a good spot," Iroh said, tearing the boy out of his thoughts.

Aang looked around. They appeared to be in the main street of the town. "Yeah, sure. This looks good."

Finding a nice shady spot on the side of the street, the two of them proceeded with their "great idea". Panhandling. As the old man and monk pair, they figured that would suit them quite nicely.

* * *

"Let's see…what's the perfect job for us?" Sokka thought out loud, rubbing his chin as he and Toph wandered down the busy street. He turned his head left and right to look at all the potential businesses that might offer them some work. 

Toph simply followed behind, looking bored.

In the midst of the crowd, a girl approached them holding a tray filled with small cups of tea. "Hello," she greeted with a bright smile. "Care to try a sample of our freshly brewed tea? This is our teahouse's special blend!"

Toph shrugged and took a cup. After taking a sip she frowned and stuck her tongue out. "Ack! It tastes weird." She placed the cup back on the tray. "Sorry, but your special blend needs some work."

Sokka on the other hand was already downing his fifth cup. Then he caught Toph making a face at him. "What? I'm thirsty. And broke. And this stuff's free!"

The teahouse waitress laughed. "The Lotus Teahouse is just at the next corner of the street. Please stop by sometime!" she said and moved on.

As the pair continued to walk, Sokka's thoughts returned to the task at hand. "Maybe we can get a job with a butcher. He might pay us in meat."

"That's a great idea, Snoozles. Why don't you do that, and I'll wait for you in that teahouse with the nasty tea."

"What are you babbling about? We shouldn't split up. Besides, you have to work, too, Toph!"

"I'm blind and helpless," she replied calmly. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Oh, so NOW you're blind and helpless when it suits you!" Sokka huffed.

The earthbender shrugged easily. "Hey, gotta take advantage of my disadvantage wherever I can, right?" She gave him a pat on the shoulder before walking off. "I'll see you later."

The Water Tribe boy grumbled and stomped off in the opposite direction.

Toph walked towards the teahouse, but instead of going in, she took a side street and kept walking in search of a less crowded area. She had purposely sent Sokka off, because she could sense that she was being followed almost as soon as she stepped into town. It wasn't just anybody either. It was an old friend. The footsteps were unmistakable. Toph grinned to herself. _It just wouldn't be proper bringing a tagalong to the reunion._

* * *

They've been walking around for a good while now, Katara trailing a few paces behind Zuko. Simply walking. They didn't look at each other, and they definitely didn't speak to each other. 

Katara heaved a sigh with a roll of her eyes. _This isn't getting us anywhere._ "I don't like this any better than you, but since we're stuck with each other, we might as well cooperate."

There was no response.

"What can you do exactly?"

Zuko kept walking.

"Hey, did you hear me?" she said, beginning to get annoyed.

Still nothing.

Katara stomped on the ground and balled her hands into fists. "Stop ignoring me, you jerk!"

Zuko stopped and turned to face her, his features unreadable. "I'm merely complying with your wish of 'not speaking to you at all'. Is that a problem?"

She gritted her teeth as her own words from the previous night came back to her. _Arrogant hog monkey…_ "Just…forget I said that!" She waved her arms expressively for emphasis.

He frowned and turned his head away. "Fine."

"Fine!" Katara repeated lamely. In order to get her mind off of the uncomfortable silence that fell between them, the waterbender began eyeing the shops and saw something that might be promising. "Hey, maybe we can go see if that place is hiring," she said as she pointed.

Zuko looked and winced as soon as he saw the big sign that read "The Lotus Teahouse". With a sigh of resignation, he said, "Fine."

They headed for the teahouse, but before they went in, Katara gasped when she spotted someone she recognized sitting at one of the tables close to the front entrance of the teahouse. Grabbing Zuko's sleeve, she quickly pulled him aside before he could enter.

"What's the matter?" the bemused prince asked.

"That well-dressed man with the beard sitting at the corner table is Toph's old earthbending teacher, Master Yu," she explained quietly. "Her father hired him to capture and bring her back home."

Zuko followed her line of sight to Yu, sizing him up with his eyes. In all honesty, he didn't look like much. The prince found it rather hard to believe that this man was actually Toph's bending instructor.

"He and another man with a grudge against Toph, Xin Fu, tried to take her when we were in Ba Sing Se," Katara continued.

"Maybe we should have a talk with him," Zuko suggested.

"What?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "No, I think we should leave before they know we're here."

"It's too late for that," he replied, his eyes still on Yu. "They already know. Look at him. He's anxious. Like he's waiting for something."

Katara studied Yu a bit more closely and noticed now that the older man indeed appeared restless, turning his head left and right, scanning the streets. She whipped her head around to face Zuko with knitted brows. "Xin Fu must already be after Toph!"

"Let's go," Zuko stated, his emotions still well concealed, and started up the stairs to the teahouse entrance.

"Wait!" Katara said in a strained whisper as she followed after him. "Don't make a scene!"

"I'm not stupid."

Yu didn't even notice until Zuko sat down beside him. Eyeing the unwelcome teen with scrutiny, the man asked, "May I help you?"

Zuko smiled slightly and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Master Yu, it's been such a long time since I studied with you. Do you not remember me?"

Yu frowned in confusion.

Then Katara took a seat across the table from him. "Master Yu!" she exclaimed with a bright smile, catching on to Zuko's tactics. "We never thought we'd run into you here. What a pleasant surprise!"

Yu's eyes widened in recognition when he saw the girl. "You!" He tried to stand, but Zuko's hand held him down.

"I wouldn't make any sudden moves if I were you," the prince said in a low, threatening voice, loud enough for just the three of them to hear.

The older man gulped. "What do you want?"

Katara casually refilled Yu's cup of tea and poured one for herself while she was at it. "Such a nice day for tea, isn't it? Please." She motioned for him to take his cup. They both drank, then Katara refilled the emptied cups.

"Where's Xin Fu?" Zuko demanded.

Yu began to sweat. "We…parted ways."

"If you value your life, you will tell the truth," the boy said, sounding more dangerous now.

Katara placed her hand under her chin, propping it up with her elbow while her other arm rested easily on the table. She watched as the tea in her cup danced to the command of her finger. "Tea is basically water," she said, almost musing to herself. "It's funny how easy it is for me to bend it from one place and hold it in another. Like from the stomach to the throat, for instance." She pointed her index finger upward to bend the tea from her cup into a floating blob hovering a few inches above the cup as a demonstration. Looking up, she smiled sweetly.

Yu gulped harder this time.

Zuko arched a brow, not sure if he should be impressed or scared. "You heard her. Now, talk."

Reluctantly, Yu gave in. "We came to this town a few days ago. It was just luck that we spotted Toph coming in today. Xin Fu is tailing her as we speak."

Katara frowned. "You weren't able to defeat her together. What makes you think Xin Fu can take her on his own?"

"Well…" The earthbender looked around nervously.

Zuko tightened his grip on Yu's shoulder, making the older man wince. "I'm getting tired of asking."

Yu began sweating more profusely. "All right, all right!" He produced a small white vial from within his sleeve. "We put this into the tea and had a waitress here bring it out to her and the Water Tribe boy as samples."

Zuko eyed the vial with a scowl. "What is it?"

"A powerful sleeping powder. Even a full grown platypus bear will succumb to just a small dose, and Toph is still only a child."

"Which way did they go?" Katara asked, getting worried now.

Yu pointed to the side street Toph went through.

"Let's go," she said and hurried out the doors.

When Katara disappeared, Zuko narrowed his eyes at Yu. "I suggest you stay away from Toph. Next time I see you, you will _not_ walk away unscathed." He swiped the vial and left the teahouse.

Yu sat trembling, still too scared to move. That was no empty threat. He could still feel the intense heat on his shoulder. The youth wasn't just anybody…he was a powerful firebender.

Outside the entrance, Katara was waiting for Zuko at the bottom of the stairs. When the boy caught up, he gave her a slightly unsettled questioning frown. "Can you really bend water from someone's stomach?"

Katara blinked, not expecting the question. Then she laughed, unable to withhold her amusement. "You'd like to know that, wouldn't you?" she finally said with a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. Without really answering his question, she walked off.

Zuko trailed after her, unsatisfied.

* * *

A/N: I have a question, if anyone has an answer. What are all of Sokka's weapons? He has a boomerang and a knife that looks like it has teeth stuck to it. What's that club/bat looking thing with a ball stuck in it? Haha! Anyway, time to move the story away from the wilderness for a little bit. Reviews appreciated! Many thanks for reading! 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Sokka trudged down the street with his head hanging, moping. The job hunt wasn't going very well. He wasn't able to get a job with the butcher _or_ the jerky makers. Even the folks at the fish market turned him down. Now he had to resort to seeking employment with the vegetable vendors. _Guess there's no choice, but Aang will probably be happy to see me come back with some extra veggies for him._

Looking up, the Water Tribe boy saw before him a cart filled with cabbages. The vendor behind the cart held up one of the round green vegetables to his cheek, caressing it almost lovingly. Sokka cocked a brow at the sight. _Creepy…but…_ He approached the cart anyway. "Hello, sir. Nice cabbages you have here! Bet you need some help selling all these beautiful cabbages, huh?" He picked up a cabbage, spinning it on his finger like one would a ball and put on his most charming smile.

"No, I don't! And stop touching my cabbages!" the vendor said with annoyance, waving a hand to shoo him away.

"But if you hire me, I can stand at the other end of the street while you stand here," Sokka persisted logically. "You'll definitely get more customers that way! And besides…" he trailed off when he caught the other man giving him a weird look. "What? Is there something on my face?"

With his chin in his hand, the cabbage vendor looked the boy up and down. "You seem…familiar…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sokka replied honestly. "This is my first time in this town. I've never seen you before." As he spoke, he began to feel a bit woozy. He blinked and shook his head to try to clear the dizziness.

"Wait a minute, I remember you now!" the vendor exclaimed as the lights in his head came on. "You're one of the kids who's always messing up my cabbages no matter where I go!" He raised both of his arms in rage.

Sokka's head was spinning by now and the cabbage vendor deteriorated into a fuzzy blob before his eyes. "No, I'm not… I'm telling you, you have the wrong—"

As though controlled by a switch, Sokka suddenly collapsed unceremoniously right onto the cart, tipping the whole thing over as he rolled onto the ground.

As the cabbages rolled all over the place, the vendor grabbed his head in distress. "SEE! You did it again!!"

By now, however, Sokka was already snoring away, oblivious to the world.

* * *

Aang reached up with both hands and, grabbing either sides of his straw hat, he pulled it over his eyes and slumped lower with a restless sigh. "Panhandling stinks!" 

Sitting beside the boy, Iroh gave an empathetic sigh. They had been sitting around doing nothing for quite a while now. For an active child such as Aang, that must have been difficult to bear. Not to mention, they really weren't making too much money. "If panhandling was good business, nobody would work. Everyone would just sit around and wait for the money to come."

"Then maybe we need to upgrade it to work!" Aang jumped to his feet and did a few stretches to loosen up from all that sitting. Then moving a bit further into the street, he yelled loudly, "Hey everyone! Watch this!"

The young monk got into his earthbending stance. With a stomp on the ground, a fist-sized chunk of rock rose into the air. He stomped again and a second one came up. Grabbing both rocks, he began to juggle. With another stomp, a third rock came up and was added to the juggling rocks. In this manner, he continued to increase the number of rocks being juggled and soon began to draw a crowd.

Iroh chuckled as he got to his feet. "That's one way to solve the problem." Joining the boy, he began to collect the coins that the cheering and clapping crowd offered.

* * *

Combing the streets with hurried footsteps, Zuko and Katara searched for any signs of their friend and her pursuer. 

"What does this guy look like again?" Zuko asked as his eyes scanned down another side street.

"Big, tall, and muscular with long dark hair," Katara supplied as she whipped her head from side to side, almost frantically. "Very rough and tough…pretty much the opposite of Yu." She was about to turn a corner when Zuko yanked her to a stop with a hand on her shoulder, speaking before giving her a chance to lose her temper.

"Is that him?" he asked, nodding his head in the opposite direction.

Katara looked just in time to see Xin Fu disappear into an alleyway. "Yes, that's him!"

The pair hurried to give chase. As they reached the alleyway, they saw Xin Fu turn yet another corner. When they caught up, peeking around the corner of the building, they found that he had actually walked into a dead end. At the far end stood Toph with folded arms and a grin on her face as though she had been waiting for him.

Katara was about to jump to her friend's rescue, but Zuko grabbed her wrist, holding her back. "What are you doing?" she asked irritably. "We have to help her!"

"If you interfere, she won't be pleased," he told her plainly.

Katara opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"She's the best, isn't she? Let's just watch and see how it goes." Without waiting for her reply, Zuko turned his attention back to the confrontation that was about to unfold before them.

Katara was left unsure as to how she should feel. It was certainly true that the ever independent Toph was sensitive to receiving aid, but how did Zuko pick up on that and why would he even care? It would have been nice if she could just dismiss it as him not wanting to step in and help, but his demeanor made it a bit difficult for her to simply brush it off as that.

"Fancy meeting you here, Xin Fu," Toph said, the confident grin never leaving her features. "So, where's Yu? Got tired of being _stuck_ with him, huh?"

The bulky earthbender growled at the humiliating memory of being trapped with that poor excuse of a man for days in a metal cage before some passersby were actually willing to help them out. But that anger soon dissolved into a devious chuckle. "You won't be laughing for long. Time for some payback."

Toph laughed mockingly. "If you don't want me to laugh, you should really stop saying such laughable things. You've done nothing but lose to me in the past, and that's not about to change." As she said this, she noticed her "vision" was beginning to get a bit blurry. She widened her stance slightly to root herself to the ground more firmly but ended up stumbling a little as the dizziness got to her.

"You aren't feeling a bit tired now, are you?" It was Xin Fu's turn to grin. "That sure was some good tea earlier, wasn't it?"

Toph scowled as she realized what he meant. "You spineless wimp! That's playing dirty!"

Xin Fu only laughed. "Say what you want. You're mine!" Bending a chunk of earth as massive as he was, he pushed his arms forth and sent it hurtling towards the girl.

Raising both arms, Toph pulled up a wedge-shaped column that was twice her height with the sharp edge facing her opponent, bisecting Xin Fu's attack in two when it hit. She shook her head, trying to fight off unconsciousness. "Don't get too smug, loser. I can still take you, even with my hands behind my back!" Placing her arms behind her back, she locked her wrists with her own hands.

From where he was standing, Zuko couldn't help but smirk. _Cheeky and stubborn to the very end…_

"What's the matter?" Toph taunted. "Come at me any way you like!" Though she talked tough, in truth she could barely stand straight.

Xin Fu, now mad as a kimodo rhino for being so far underestimated by a mere child, sent a series of earthen slabs her way.

Toph slid her foot across the ground before her and blocked with an earth shield. But when she let her shield crumble away, she realized too late that there was still one more slab coming her way. She quickly dodged to the side, protecting all her vitals. Her shoulder, however, took the hit straight on. As the slab propelled past her, it scraped painfully across the side of her arm. Gritting her teeth, she winced as she was knocked off her feet.

"Not so tough now, are you, little girl?" Xin Fu said as he began to approach.

Putting the bruising and burning sensations out of her mind, Toph scrambled up to kneeling position before he could get too close, still determined to do this with her hands behind her back. Shifting her weight onto one knee, she brought her other foot up, planted it firmly onto the ground, and slid it across the earth, extending it towards her opponent. A pole-shaped chunk of earth shot out of the ground at a low angle, hitting Xin Fu in the abdomen, causing him to groan painfully.

Not about to let him off so easily, Toph jumped up and drove both of her heels into the ground as she landed. Two slabs shot up at an angle from either sides of Xin Fu, colliding at his head, effectively knocking him out.

Toph wobbled as she tried to maintain her balance. Still breathing heavily, she glowered at the unconscious heap before her. "I'm the world's greatest earthbender ever! If you dare forget that fact again, you're going to lose that head of yours! You hear me?!" Wobbling again, she dropped to the ground as darkness finally claimed her.

Deserting their hiding place, the two teens rushed over to their younger friend. Zuko got to Toph first. After examining the damage to her shoulder and arm, he gingerly gathered her up into his arms.

Katara stood behind Zuko and watched in perplexity as she rubbed her wrist where he had been holding her before. They had both been so focused on Toph that neither of them even realized he never let go of her wrist. That was until his hold became a death grip when Toph got hurt. Katara didn't see it before, but Zuko seemed to genuinely care about Toph…which was a surprise, since she didn't think he cared about anybody except himself. _All right, maybe he did completely freak out when Azula got Iroh with her lightning…_

Katara gasped as the thought of siblings reminded her of her brother. "I have to go find Sokka! He's probably passed out somewhere on the streets!" She turned to go.

"Katara!" Zuko whirled around, the unconscious earthbender still resting in his arms. The sleeve on her injured arm was torn, and blood was trickling from the raw flesh where she had been scraped. "Take care of Toph. I'll look for your brother."

Katara looked from Zuko to Toph. He was right. Toph needed her more than Sokka did right now. In a situation like this, she had no choice but to place her trust in the firebender. Returning her eyes to Zuko, she simply nodded her agreement.

* * *

After running around for Agni knows how long, Zuko finally spotted Sokka in the middle of a narrow market street lined with vendors and their carts of various goods. The Water Tribe boy was sprawled face down amongst a sea of cabbages and an overturned cart. After getting over the initial shock, the prince rolled his eyes with a sigh as he went to retrieve the sleeping warrior, kicking cabbages to the side along the way. 

Rolling Sokka over, Zuko pulled him up by his shirt with both hands and shook the heck out of him. "Sokka. Sokka!" _No good._ The boy was completely out and drooling, no less. Throwing one of Sokka's arms over his shoulder…making sure the side of this face with all the drool on it was the side _away_ from himself…Zuko helped Sokka to his feet and started to head back to where he had left Toph and Katara.

At this point, a distressed voice could be heard coming from the other end of the street. "You must arrest that kid! He ruined all my cabbages! And it's not the first time!!"

Zuko looked over his shoulder to find the angry cabbage vendor coming his way with two Earth Kingdom patrolmen in tow. "Shoot!" There was no way he could get Sokka out of sight in time.

Looking around his surroundings for inspiration, he found that they were conveniently standing right beside a fabric vendor's cart. While the fabric vendor was caught up in all the commotion the cabbage vendor was making, Zuko "borrowed" one of his bed sheet-sized fabrics and quickly wrapped it around the Water Tribe boy, cocoon style. With a none too gentle shove, he pushed Sokka into a side alley. Unfortunately for Sokka, said alley was in fact a designated trash area, and he ended up landing in a pile of garbage.

"Hey, you there!" one of the patrolmen hollered. "Stop where you are!"

Zuko, who had hoped to walk away quietly to blend back into the scenery, cursed under his breath and froze.

The second patrolman, the shorter of the two, hurried over to him and took hold of his arm, making sure he wouldn't run off. "Are you the one who destroyed this man's vegetable cart?" he interrogated.

"No, it's not this one!" the cabbage vendor supplied as he caught up. He scanned the area in puzzlement. "The boy with the ponytail and blue shirt…where did he go?!"

"Can I go now?" Zuko asked calmly.

The patrolman didn't release him. "Did you see anyone matching that description?"

Zuko merely shook his head.

The man was about to let Zuko go when his taller partner called out, "Hold on a second." He walked up to Zuko and narrowed his eyes, pulling up the boy's bangs with one hand to get a better look at the scar on his face. "You're Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation!"

Hearing this, the short patrolman gasped in shock and immediately stone-cuffed Zuko's hands behind his back.

A small crowd began to gather.

Zuko was in a tight spot now. Caught and without any weapons. Should he try to deny it or firebend his way to freedom? It didn't take long for him to conclude that it was smarter to try working with the first idea before the latter. "You have the wrong guy," he said, his anxiety perfectly concealed. "My name is Li."

"There's no way you can talk yourself out of this one, boy," said the tall patrolman. "I've seen the wanted posters. You are definitely—"

The man was interrupted by the sudden loud crying sounds of a child somewhere off to their side. "Brother! Where are you?!"

Everyone turned and the crowd parted to reveal a little girl coming towards them. From the way she walked with one hand holding the wall and her other hand stretched out in front of her, it was obvious that she was blind.

Zuko's eyes widened when he saw her. _Toph?_

"Somebody help!" Toph said between pitiful sobs. "I can't find my brother!"

"Little girl, we can help," the tall patrolman said sympathetically as he went over to her. "What's your name?"

Toph sniffed and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, pouting with quivering lips. "My…my name is Ling. I'm trying to find my brother, Li. He's got this big o' scar on his face. You can't miss it!"

Zuko arched his brow. _Me?_

The man's face twitched. "Uh…you don't mean…this guy?"

"Which guy?" Toph asked, with a hopeful gasp. "Li, are you here?"

There was no response.

She stomped a foot on the ground. "Answer me, damn it!"

Zuko had to steady himself to keep from toppling over from the personal earthquake experience the earthbending genius just sent him. He sighed and gave his unenthusiastic reply. "Over her, To…uh, Ling."

Toph brightened. "Li!" Bystanders watched as the blind girl ran over to the teen, miraculously stepping over every single cabbage that was in her way. Wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, she buried her face in his clothes and simply bawled. Loud. "Why did you leave me, Li?! Papa went off to war. Mama got sick and passed away. Even our dog Zuzu ran away! What am I going to do if you left, too?!"

Zuko's eye twitched. _Is she calling me a dog?_ He wasn't sure how he should respond to this over-the-top drama he suddenly got thrown into.

Toph pulled his ear until his head came down to her level. "Say something, dork, or I'll look like a fool!" she whispered.

"I think you've got that covered all on your own," he whispered back with a hint of agitation. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving your hide! And while we're causing a diversion, Katara is getting Sokka outta here."

From the corner of his eye, Zuko could see Katara in the trash alley trying to dig Sokka out of the garbage pile with one hand while holding her nose with the other. Turning his eyes back to Toph, he said, "No, I mean the excessive outbursts."

Toph grinned. "It's called acting. It's fun. Now play along!" She released his ear, allowing him to straighten up, and projected her voice once more. "Don't you ever do that again, or I'll never forgive you!" She resumed her sobbing.

Zuko sighed inwardly. _Why me?_ "Sorry, Ling," he said in monotone. "It won't happen again. I was just trying to find a job."

She touched the stone cuffs around his wrists and feigned surprise. "Why are you bound, brother?! What happened? Did you go peeking into the neighbor girl's bath again?"

Zuko's face flushed with a combination of fury and embarrassment. "I did no such thing!"

"I think we have the wrong guy," said the short patrolman with a cocked brow.

The tall patrolman waved a dismissive hand. "Let him go." When the stone cuffs came off, he added, "Take good care of your sister. And stop peeking into other people's baths if you know what's good for you!"

The prince bit the inside of his lips, closing his eyes for a moment to collect himself. _Keep your temper keep your temper keep your temper keep your temper…_ When he opened his eyes, he bowed slightly. "Yes, sir." Not wanting to stick around any longer, he took Toph's hand and stomped off. As he walked, he could hear the cabbage vendor behind him making a fuss again, reminding everyone of his existence.

"That last bit was entirely unnecessary!" Zuko grumbled once they had put enough distance between themselves and the crowd.

Toph laughed while allowing herself to be dragged by the fuming prince. "No, it wasn't! Your reaction was priceless! It'll supply me with enough laughs to last a couple of days."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I'm SO glad to be of service." Then he suddenly stopped and turned around as he remembered something. Tugging on Toph's hand, he moved it a little to the side to get a better look at the place where she'd been hurt. _It's healed._

She gave him a knowing grin. "Good as new."

"Where did Katara and Sokka go?" He changed the subject, not wanting to seem too concerned.

"She dragged him off in the other direction."

"Let's go meet up with them." He figured the waterbender would most likely need some help with the dead weight.

As they were about to leave, someone called out to him. "Young man! Young man! Wait!"

Zuko turned to find a middle-aged man running to catch up.

"I heard you say you were looking for a job," the man said, slightly out of breath as he caught up. "Just so happens I need some extra help for a few days. Interested?"

The banished prince arched his brow.

* * *

A/N: Heh…sorry, I just can't resist the Zuko/Toph cuteness. But this will be it for now. Anyway, I'm not sure if it's possible to earthbend without hands or not. That canyon guide couldn't. But if anyone can do it, it'll be Toph. Haha! And this may be minor, but I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to call those two Earth Kingdom authoritative figures. I didn't think they would be called soldiers, since they're more like police…but the word "police" sounds too modern. And they're not really guards since they walk around town to keep the peace, so I ended up calling them patrolmen. Does anyone have a better term? It's still sort of bugging me. Haha! Many thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Li! Three Jasmine and one Oolong at table five!"

Zuko hung his head with a sigh. It was funny how some things kept coming around. Didn't Aang say that life pointed them in certain directions? _Maybe this is my destiny…_

As it turns out, the man who offered Zuko a job was the owner of the only other teahouse in town besides the Lotus. Apparently, there was a festival going on, so the owner needed some extra help for a few days. Two, to be precise. Thus, Katara ended up getting hired as well.

The previous day was a bit of a disaster. Since Toph only had a sip of that tea, the effects wore off pretty quickly, but Sokka was a completely different story. According to the earthbender, the Water Tribe boy drank quite a few cups of it and, as a result, did not wake up till morning. In the end, Iroh and Aang were the only ones who made any money. Zuko wasn't sure if it was coincidence or just dumb luck, but at least all the craziness landed him a job in the end, though he would have preferred something less…tea-related.

Katara, who had just returned to the back counter with a tray of dirty dishes, saw Zuko pouring tea with a certain defeated look on his face and couldn't help her amused smirk. It wasn't everyday one had the privilege of witnessing a Fire Nation royalty doing the work of a commoner. "What's the matter? Not used to being the servant?" she asked as she unloaded the contents of her tray into the sink.

"I'm starting to think I'll never get away from tea," he grumbled. "In one season's time, this is already the third teahouse I've worked at." He placed all the filled cups onto a tray and handed it over to her as though it was contaminated with some sort of contagious disease.

Katara snickered lightly with a cocked eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Your uncle is the tea guru. You'll never get away from it no matter how hard you try." Graciously taking the tray of offending liquid off his hands, she turned and walked away.

There were many things Zuko could have said in response, but he remained silent, watching her retreating form in thought as though he had just realized something. There was something different about her attitude. It didn't sap all of his strength just being around her. She even seemed somewhat…dare he think it…friendly. _What happened?_

Thinking back through the day, Zuko remembered she did drink some of the tea here and commented on how good it was. Did they put something funny in the tea? Was there some "happy tea" he didn't know about? Because if there was, he wouldn't mind buying a few pounds for the road. He didn't tell anyone, but he still had a couple of the gold pieces that Mai had given him stashed away for emergency purposes. This would definitely be categorized as an emergency, at least as far as Zuko was concerned. After all, happy Katara would be a lot easier to deal with than irritated and wrathful Katara.

* * *

It was the end of the day, and Sokka and Toph were at the street corner outside the teahouse, waiting for Zuko and Katara to get off work. Sokka was finally able to beg a job from the jerky makers, and Toph was hired at a construction site just across the street from his work place. Even though she was only a third the size of all the other workers, she got hired right away when she demonstrated her ability to do the work of ten people in half the time with little effort. 

Pacing back and forth, Sokka shifted the heavy sack full of jerky…his pay…he was carrying on his back. In one hand, he held a stick of jerky. In his other hand was another small bag filled with more jerky. Restless, he took another bite out of his stick of dried meat and chewed in annoyance. "What's taking them so long?!"

Toph folded her arms, getting somewhat annoyed by his nonstop pacing. "I _said_ we should go, but noooooo. You had to wait for Sugar Queen."

Sokka turned to the earthbender with knitted brows. "Hey, I still don't trust Zuko enough to let Katara walk back to camp with him alone in the dark. Who knows what he might do? What if he eats her?!"

Toph rolled her sightless eyes and blew her bangs away from her face, wondering if perhaps the tea from the day before still hadn't quite worked its way through his system just yet. "Not everyone has cannibalistic tendencies like yourself, Snoozles."

The Water Tribe boy glared at her with a growl then shoved more jerky into his mouth, chewing menacingly with primal vigor.

Hearing his saliva-enriched slurps, Toph couldn't help but cringe. "Sometimes blindness can be such a blessing."

"Good night, everyone! See you in the morning!" Katara's voice rang out into the streets, catching the pair's attention as she and Zuko stepped out of the teahouse.

"Finally!" Sokka said with relief. However, relief didn't stick with him very long. "U-oh. This can't be good. They're talking. And she's not scowling. He's winning her over."

"What's the big deal?" Toph said, dismissive. "I mean, he did save you from getting hauled off to jail yesterday. Isn't that why you brought this jerky offering?" She poked at the small bag of jerky in his hand with a grin.

He frowned with an agitated growl. "Not the same! And it's not an offering! It's an I-don't-owe-you-now gift."

"You're going to break even with a handful of dried meat? You sure aren't worth very much, are you, Snoozles?" she said, her teasing grin never leaving her features. "The poor guy even lugged you all the way back to camp while you drooled all over his shoulder."

Sokka's frown deepened as he went into pouting mode. "Fine!! I'll give him another piece!" He reached over his shoulder to grab another stick of his precious jerky and shoved it into the smaller bag in his hand. "Happy now?!"

Stomping off before giving her a chance to retort, Sokka went to meet up with the other two. "Here," he said curtly as he shoved the bag of jerky into Zuko's hands. Then placing an arm around Katara's shoulder, he tugged his bemused sister away and started down the street. "Let's go."

Zuko frowned at the bundle of meat strips in his hands with scrutiny. "What's this?"

"It's Sokka's token of appreciation for saving his butt yesterday," Toph supplied.

"He's thanking me with jerky?"

She shrugged. "Hey, this is Sokka. The guy thinks in terms of meat."

The prince sighed, already feeling sorry for the girl who may one day be courted by Sokka's bouquets of ham.

* * *

Around mid-day the following day, Aang and Iroh stopped by the crowded teahouse to check on their favorite people. 

"Hey, Katara!" the airbender said with a wide grin.

Turning to the sound of his voice, an empty tray clasped in her arms, Katara smiled brightly. "Aang!"

"We thought we'd come try some of your tea," Iroh said in greeting.

"And get some food, too," Aang added. "We're starved!"

"Sure thing!" Katara said as she craned her neck in search of an empty table. "There's an open spot in the back. Follow me." She led them to the table and began loading the empty dishes that were still on the table onto her tray as her friends took their seats.

Iroh scanned the room. "Where's Li?"

"Oh, he's at the back counter. Probably glaring at the teapots," she replied conversationally as she pulled out a small cloth from her apron's pocket and wiped the table. "I'll let him know you're here."

After taking their order, Katara went back to the counter while both Aang and Iroh trailed her with their eyes.

"Hey, Iroh! Look, look! She's talking to him!" Aang whispered excitedly as though he had just witnessed a miracle.

"Yes," Iroh said as he observed the interaction between the teens. "And he's responding with more than two words…"

They turned and looked at each other, voicing their next thought in unison. "And they're _not_ scowling!" They weren't necessarily smiling either, but at least they weren't agitated and tense. That alone was enough of a cause for celebration. The young monk and retired general grinned widely at each other as Aang did a mini in-seat happy dance.

After a while, Katara returned with their order. "Here're your tea and pastries," she said, smiling as she set them on the table.

Iroh picked up the cup of steaming tea, taking a moment to breathe in the aroma. Just as he was about to take a sip, he paused. Leaning towards Katara, he asked in a low voice, "He didn't make the tea, did he?"

The waterbender cocked a curious brow. "…No, he didn't."

The old firebender sighed in relief. "Oh, thank—"

"And what if I did?" came Zuko's low and dangerously flat voice from right behind him.

Startled, Iroh nearly dropped his cup of tea. "Li, my boy! So good of you to join us!" he said as he turned to meet his nephew's glaring eyes with an innocent grin.

"We actually didn't just come here to eat," Aang said, getting everyone's attention with the solemnity in his voice. "Fire Nation troops. They're everywhere."

"Yes," Iroh said. "It appears there's a battalion or two passing through."

Zuko frowned. "Heading north?"

"Isn't this like what we heard from that other town?" Katara asked. "Troops are heading north?"

Iroh stroked his beard as he nodded his head slowly in thought.

"Why isn't anyone doing anything about it?" Katara asked, downcast and somewhat perplexed. "They're just going to let the enemy walk through their territory?"

"This is a small town with no real military power," Iroh explained. "In places like this, people can only pray that the enemy will in fact simply pass through and leave them in peace."

"I don't like this," Zuko said. "Something's going on."

Aang looked at everyone's contemplative and worrisome features in turn. "In any case, the streets are crawling with them. We thought it best not to draw too much attention to ourselves, so we ducked out of there. And we figured we should warn you in case they come in here."

"Especially you, nephew," Iroh added. "Try to stay out of sight."

"I'm tired of running," Zuko said, almost too quietly to be heard.

Iroh took a sip of his tea. "Careful. Remember what happened the last time you said that."

The prince narrowed his eyes, thoughts focused inward. "I know, Uncle. Don't worry. I won't be reckless again."

"Li!" The manager's voice cut across the bustling teahouse and into their discussion. "Can you get this table?!"

Zuko gave the man a small nod. Before walking off, he turned back to Aang and Iroh. "You two should head back to Appa just to be safe. We'll see you tonight."

* * *

It was now evening. Business was slowing as the day began to wind down. Zuko was doing the dishes behind the counter, his back to the room. Since he never quite got the 'service with a smile' thing down, he preferred to hang around back here most of the time. Lucky for him, the manager agreed with his sentiment on the matter. Katara on the other hand was the perfect waitress. With her charming smile and friendly personality, she was already earning twice his pay in the way of tips. 

Zuko was in the middle of brooding about how dull his current task was when excitement jumped out at him. Literally. The water in the sink suddenly came up in a wave and attacked him, wrapping around his torso, pushing him to the floor. The firebender, now sitting in a puddle of water, turned and glared at the waterbender who was standing at the other end of the counter.

"Stay down!" Katara said in a commanding whisper while keeping her head up, her eyes focused elsewhere. "Don't forget, if you do anything stupid, you'll get the rest of us in trouble as well."

Zuko understood and remained where he was.

Katara wiped the counter, trying to appear nonchalant as three Fire Nation soldiers stepped inside. A blanket of silence fell over the teahouse as everyone noticed the newcomers. Some customers kept their heads down and eyes averted, hoping they won't catch the soldiers' attention, while others took this opportunity to leave before anything might happen.

The manager, though nervous, kindly escorted the soldiers to a table close to the back counter. After getting them seated, he looked over at Katara. "Where's Li?"

"Oh, uh…we're running low on some supplies, so the boss sent him out to restock," she replied.

"Then, could you get this table? Thanks!" He turned around and hurried off before she could protest.

_Why you little…!_ Katara's eye twitched with a forced smile. "Sure…of course…"

She went over to take their order as instructed and got a good look at each of the soldiers while she was at it. One of them was muscular in build and had thick eyebrows. He looked like the kind of person who would think with his fists instead of his head. Another one was young and relatively scrawny. He didn't look much older than she was. The last one was average looking with no real characteristics that would make him stand out in any way. In fact, one might even say that his defining characteristic was that he had no defining characteristic.

After taking their order, Katara went back behind the counter to get their food, keeping her ears opened as she worked. Zuko, of course, did the same from his hiding place.

"So, did you guys hear about General Iroh?" Average asked conversationally, propping his head up on the table with his elbow.

"Yeah," Scrawny replied sadly, his eyes on the table. "He was beheaded at Ba Sing Se."

"Then you haven't heard the latest," Average smirked, proud to be the one with the inside scoop. "Word is, he was rescued by the Avatar."

Scrawny perked up. "Really? That's great news!"

Eyebrows snorted. "That old geezer's a traitor. Helping that darn Avatar. He'll get what's coming to him."

From the counter, Katara narrowed her eyes at Eyebrows.

"But I like General Iroh," Scrawny said meekly. "I think he would have been a great Fire Lord."

"Fire Lord?!" Eyebrows laughed in ridicule. "Tell me, kid. If he were Fire Lord material, why would he abandon his siege on Ba Sing Se right when he was about to win? Huh? What kind of Fire Lord would pull something so stupid?" Scrawny didn't answer, so he continued. "The fool's a failure and a weakling. If you ask me, I say it's a good thing his son died, or else he probably WOULD be Fire Lord right now."

Zuko was about to dig holes into his knees with his fingers as he tried to contain his fury. Then he noticed the puddle around him moving. Following the water's movement with his eyes, he watched as the water gathered at Katara's feet then rose like a ribbon to snake around her hand. When he looked up, he was surprised to see the level of anger in her eyes. _Not good._

Momentarily forgetting his own anger, he quickly reached out for her wrist, earning himself a glare from her, but he glared in return. "Don't forget what you just told me."

Katara twisted her face in annoyance, but she dropped her hold on the water and pulled out of his grasp. "I know." Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she took the soldiers' food out to them.

The men remained silent until Katara walked away. Once she returned to the counter and resumed polishing the same spot she had been polishing when they came in, their conversation continued.

"Don't forget, Iroh went into exile with Zuko willingly," Eyebrows said after gulping down his cup of tea. "If that doesn't say something about his lack of sanity, I don't know what does. Thus, I rest my case." He poured himself another cup of tea.

"Speaking of which, seems like Prince Zuko disappeared as well," Average said, as laid back as he was before Eyebrows's rant.

"I heard he was involved in the Ba Sing Se takeover," Scrawny said. "I wonder if that's true."

Eyebrows snickered as he shoved food in his mouth. "Yeah. That whelp can't do anything right."

Scrawny turned to Eyebrows, a bit annoyed. "No, I mean it's unlikely he would work with Princess Azula."

Zuko winced inwardly at that.

Eyebrows shrugged it off. "Maybe she killed him."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't put it past her," Average said casually as he took another sip of tea.

"He's useless anyway," Eyebrows added. "We have Princess Azula to take the throne after Fire Lord Ozai, so who needs Zuko? She's a firebending prodigy AND a tactical genius. She practically took Ba Sing Se overnight and by herself! Her wimpy brother can never compete."

"But I've heard rumors about how he got his scar," Scrawny said.

Eyebrows waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, I heard, too. It was a training accident. How pathetic."

Scrawny cocked a disbelieving brow. "That's not what _I_ heard."

Just then another soldier poked his head into the teahouse. "Hey, Zhang! Captain's looking for you!"

Eyebrows, whose name was apparently Zhang, got to his feet with a huff. "Damn that guy. Can't even take a break." After taking two steps from the table, he slipped and fell on his butt. Scrambling back to his feet with a curse, he stomped off.

From where Zuko was, he was unable to see what happened but certainly heard the tumbling sounds. He looked to Katara for signs of what might have occurred and got his answer when he saw the satisfied smirk on her lips. The prince shook his head, an amused smile threatening to appear on his face. _This girl…_

The moment Eyebrows stepped out, Average whacked Scrawny over the head with his hand. "You really _are_ a rookie, aren't you? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Scrawny rubbed his head with a wince. "What? I was just making conversation."

"That kind of talk can get you killed. Even if you think it, don't say it. Especially around me. You'll drag me down with you, idiot!"

"Geez. A guy can't even talk," Scrawny grumbled. "It's bad enough that I had to come here. I got better things to do than pointless fighting. Do you even know where we're going? What we're doing?"

"No." Average got to his feet. "As long as I don't die, I don't care. Are you done, yet?" He started heading out, leaving his companion behind.

Scrawny gulped down the rest of his tea then went over to the back counter. "Miss? Can I pay here?" he asked Katara.

"Uh, um, well…" Katara stuttered, startled by his sudden approach as well as his desire to actually pay for the food.

Beside her, Zuko tensed, preparing himself for anything.

"You're supposed to pay at the front counter," she said, pointing him in the right direction.

Scrawny looked down with a sad smile. "I know. But you're the only one here who hasn't retreated to the other side of the room. I don't think anyone would mind if I were to pay here."

Katara looked around, noticing for the first time that the teahouse was a lot emptier than before and, just as the boy had said, those who were still here were keeping their distance. Not surprising. What surprised her most was the fact that she was standing face to face with a Fire Nation soldier, and yet her anger did not surface. Somehow, this boy just didn't quite fit the "ruthless and cruel" image, and it begged the question: how many more like him were there? She glanced briefly at Zuko before giving the boy an understanding smile. "That will be fine. I can take it here."

He placed a few coins on the counter. "Thank you. The food was delicious." Then he turned and ran after Average. "Hey, wait up!"

After they had left, the tension in the teahouse slowly began to lift. "They're gone," Katara said.

Zuko stood up, noting that his clothes had soaked up most of the water Katara had splashed on him. Holding out his arms to either side, he raised his brow. "You mind…?"

Katara turned to him. "Huh? Oh." With a few elegant hand and arm movements, she drew the water out of his clothes and guided it back into the sink.

"Were you seriously going to attack that man earlier?" Zuko asked as she went to clear the table.

"Hey, nobody has the right to say those kinds of things about anyone, least of all Iroh!" she said, making sure no one was within earshot to hear her say his name.

"How did you make him trip?" He really was curious.

She smirked. "Oh, I just _accidentally_ spilled some tea when I brought their food over and then turned it into ice as he left. Nothing complicated."

"That boy was right, though," Zuko said, contemplative. "Uncle Iroh would have been a great Fire Lord." _I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so._

Katara came back and handed him the tray of dirty dishes. "Oh? If Iroh was Fire Lord, then you won't be next in line. You're telling me you're ok with that?"

"It doesn't matter," Zuko said as he resumed dishwashing. "The fact that my father's on the throne now hasn't really improved my chances any, has it?"

"I suppose not... Then again, I'm not sure you really have the qualifications to be a great leader anyway."

Zuko smiled sadly to himself. "You're probably right."

Katara faltered at his unexpected response. She had thought for sure he would argue, not agree. What was with the deflated ego? There was no sarcasm in his voice. Just sadness, defeat, and…resignation? "I…I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's true. How can I lead if I can't even find my own way?"

Now Katara really didn't know how to respond. Pompous Zuko she could handle, but humble Zuko was an entirely different story.

With nothing more to say, they simply continued their work in awkward silence.

* * *

A couple of days had gone by without further incident, and it was now the end of their last day in town. Katara was a bit sad. She rather enjoyed working at the teahouse. For a brief few days, life almost seemed normal. 

The boss was in the office doing his accounting, and all the other employees had already gone home. Katara and Zuko were responsible for closing shop. After wiping down all the tables and counters, they put the chairs up on the tables and mopped the floors.

When they were done, Zuko took the mops back to the storage room. "Let's go," he said as he re-emerged, ready to leave the life of tea-serving behind him…again. But when he looked, he saw Katara had set one table's chairs back onto the floor and was standing at the table pouring two cups of tea. He frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Come have a seat," she said.

He gave her a slightly suspicious look but did so anyway.

Katara sat across from him and took a deep breath. "I want to call a truce."

Zuko raised a brow. "Truce?"

"Yes." She looked away and began fidgeting with her fingers. "I…I'm sorry for accusing you of lying about your mother." Then her voice grew quieter and sad. "Iroh told me it was true." She cleared her throat before continuing. "And I'm sorry about the uh…extra protein in your food, and for just giving you random hell in general. So…truce?"

Zuko frowned again, somewhat confused, and took a few minutes to try to absorb what she'd just said. "What made you change your mind?"

Katara shook her head and laughed lightly. "Well…I guess I realized you aren't exactly the angry jerk I pegged you for. Actually, you surprised me a little."

He cocked his head a bit, wondering what was so surprising but wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

"Aang seems to have so much faith in you. Even Toph… I think I can trust in that." She smiled. "It's weird, but we seem to work pretty well together when we're not at each other's throats."

"Yes," he replied, deadpan. "We should terrorize wimpy earthbending masters more often." As she laughed again, Zuko contemplated her words. Katara was willing to give him another chance. "I see. No happy tea, huh?"

She gave him a bewildered look. "What?"

"Nothing. I accept this truce, Katara of the Water Tribe," he said formally as he held up his teacup. "And thank you."

She raised a questioning brow. "For what?"

He gave a small smile. "Just…thank you." He brought the cup to his lips, feeling as though a great amount of weight had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders.

Katara smiled and was about to drink her tea when she remembered one more thing. "Oh, and I'm sorry about the cricket moths, too."

Zuko choked on his tea. "That was you?!" He ran a hand down his face. Now that he thought about it, it was so obvious. "I should have known."

Katara laughed as she brought her cup to her lips.

* * *

A/N: Are you as tired of teahouses as Zuko is after reading this chapter? Haha! Fear not, for there shall be no more teahouses from here on. (Sorry, Iroh…) Well, I've come to a point where my notes start getting a bit sketchy. The next chapter is sort of a turning point in the story, and there're a lot of notes along the lines of "so-and-so vs. so-and-so: insert details." Yeah, so I have some sequences to dream up. Those can be difficult. So what it boils down to is that it will probably take longer than usual for me to update. Just a heads-up. Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Tossing pebbles into the water as he walked along the side of a small creek, Zuko soaked in the much-needed solitude. It's been a number of days now since they had left that town with their supplies and pockets replenished. In the end, to everyone's surprise, it was the Aang and Iroh performing duo that had earned the most income. Zuko and Katara came in at a close second, but that was mostly because Katara had raked in a sizable amount in tips. Not having run into any more Fire Nation troops, their travels had been rather quiet and peaceful since. By Sokka's calculations, they should reach the southern coast in the next day or so.

Today they had set up camp a bit earlier than usual, so everyone broke off to find his or her own pastime. Zuko took this opportunity to spend some time alone and think about how his life had once again taken a sharp turn. How did he end up going from hunting "the Avatar" to traveling with "Aang" in such a short amount of time? It was unbelievable to say the least.

At first, he kept telling himself that he only helped the boy and stayed with the group for his uncle's sake. But in time, he really did grow to like the airbender as well as his friends. In some weird way, it was like he belonged somehow. However, that sense of belonging…although it made him happy…also carried a weight with it. He was afraid to accept it, because he knew what it would mean, what it could lead to. He would be lying if he said he didn't consider everyone he was traveling with as his friend. Even Sokka. But there was a dangerously thin line between friendship and alliance. Once he crossed that line, there will be no turning back. Being allies with the Avatar would mean making enemies with the Fire Lord.

Zuko knew that Aang was waiting for his answer, but going against his father was still something he couldn't bring himself to do. It wasn't as simple as just defying his father. It was defying him with the intention of bringing him to his fall, and _that_ was what troubled Zuko. The man may not have ever loved him as a son, but he was still Zuko's father.

At the same time, he was beginning to feel like he couldn't just leave Aang hanging to deal with everything on his own. The boy already had such a huge burden to bear. As a friend, one who owed him plenty, it would be difficult to just stand by and do nothing. Zuko truly wanted for Aang to be successful in everything he did, no matter what the task may be, because he deserved so much. But why did it have to be this?

And the throne? Zuko could honestly say that he didn't care much about it at this point. There were more important things on his mind than simply securing his place in the world. The life of his father or the life of his friend. In the face of such difficult choices, the throne itself became rather insignificant.

Looking up at the blush-colored sky with the sun getting ever closer to the horizon, Zuko suddenly realized how late it was. _It's already that time again, huh?_

Taking a deep breath, he pushed his troubles aside for the time being. Then with a smirk on his face, he turned around and picked up his pace, directing his thoughts to something more exciting: a rematch.

As he walked, he mused about how it all began. It really started more as a stress reliever than anything else. Ever since he and Katara first fought it out, they'd been repeating themselves every day. Each night, the loser would demand a rematch, and the winner would accept and designate the next match to be at sunset the following day. Somewhere along the way, the venom went away. What began as a daily venting from having to put up with each other's existence turned into more of a constructive sparring routine. Usually by the next match, the loser will have developed a counterattack to use against the winner's winning move from the previous night. He definitely noticed an improvement in his fighting and bending skills, and he actually found Katara's company enjoyable now that she wasn't glaring at him day in and playing tricks on him day out anymore. By now, they no longer verbally requested rematches. They knew they could count on each other to show up when the time came…just like he knew she'd be waiting for him now in the clearing on the other side of the trees in front of him.

He stepped through the trees, and there she was, turning around to face him with a hand on her hip. "You're late." A grin spread across her face. "Not scared, are you?"

Zuko smirked. "It's seven to six in my favor. Why should I be scared?"

Water from the creek was already gravitating towards Katara. "You'll have plenty of reasons once this fight is over!" With a glint in her eyes, a smile on her face, and ribbons of water trailing her every move, Katara rushed at Zuko.

Another round began.

* * *

With both of his legs and one arm wrapped tightly around the tree branch, Sokka stretched his other limb out, reaching for the very big and very red apple dangling before him. "…almost…there…" For him to find these huge luscious apple trees in the middle of the forest they were passing through, it must have been his lucky day. 

Glancing down to see if his friends were waiting for him, Sokka found that they had in fact already started to head off without him. "Hey! Wait, you guys!" he hollered and frowned in annoyance when nobody did as he asked or even bothered to answer. He just couldn't understand why nobody seemed to share his excitement for free food. Determined not to walk away empty-handed, he resumed his task with an exasperated huff.

Reaching out once again for the juicy prize, his mouth began to water when the tips of his fingers finally touched the apple. But before he could grasp it in his hands, a small dagger came out of nowhere and cut it from the tree.

"Need some help with that?"

Sokka really, REALLY didn't want to look and see who was talking to him, because he had a feeling he already knew. Forcing himself to crane his neck up, he saw a girl with long dark hair, clad from neck to toe in deep dark colors, standing on a tree branch not too far away. His high pitched scream pierced the air. "Fire Nation! RUN!!"

That definitely caught everyone's attention. Senses alert, they began scanning their surroundings, looking for signs of trouble. Little did they know, they had already walked into the trap. Numerous Fire Nation soldiers suddenly descended upon them, jumping down from the trees and surrounding them with their weapons at the ready.

Toph knitted her brows. _Why didn't I sense them coming?!_

At this point, a pink-clad girl made her light-footed landing within the ring of soldiers. "Wow! I thought you'd never come!" Ty Lee said as she stretched her stiff muscles, perky as ever. "We've been waiting up in those trees all day!"

Within the circle, they all took their stances, sizing up their numerous opponents while trying to think of a way out of their situation.

Up in the trees, Sokka was still wrapped securely around his branch as he watched the scene unfold below.

"Hey," Mai called out to him apathetically. "Are you going to do this tree-hugging thing all day, or are we going to do this?"

Sokka frowned at her, tightening his hug around the branch defiantly. "I'll do whatever I want, and you can't do a damn thing abou—"

A knife planted itself in front of his face, barely a hair's width away from his nose, before he could finish. The Water Tribe boy gulped and mumbled, "All right, maybe you can."

Suddenly springing into action, he pulled the knife out of the branch and jumped to his feet, throwing the weapon back at Mai. When she dodged, he leaped to another tree branch in escape.

Mai pulled out another set of knives and pursued.

A couple of branches later, Sokka grabbed hold of a higher branch, using his momentum to swing himself up onto that branch. Then with a swift motion, he pulled out his boomerang as he turned around and threw the weapon at the girl.

* * *

Everyone tensed as the ring of soldiers kept inching closer, but it didn't seem like anyone was about to attack. 

Beside Aang, Zuko whispered, "Looks like they're waiting for us to make the first move."

"Then I guess that's what we'll do," the monk whispered back. "APPA!"

The giant bison, who was also within the circle, growled as he turned and swung his powerful tail. In a split second, a quarter of the soldiers was tossed back. Then baring his teeth and putting on his fiercest expression, the fluffy monster charged at the soldiers on the other side of the circle. Fearful for their lives, said soldiers turned tail and ran as fast as they could as Appa chased them into the distance. The ring of soldiers was now broken and fighting broke out as everyone began taking on enemies closest to them.

A pair of sword wielding soldiers charged at Zuko and Aang simultaneously from opposite ends. As Aang's attacker swung his weapon, aiming for the monk's head, the boy evaded simply by squatting down. Taking a deep breath, Aang blew out a forceful blast of air at the soldier's mid section and sent him flying back, though not before he dropped his sword. The monk caught the weapon before it hit the ground then turned around and tossed it to his friend. "Zuko! Catch!"

The firebender caught it just in time to parry the strike from the second soldier. When the soldier came again with another swing, Zuko sidestepped the attack and clamped his hand around his opponent's sword wielding hand. Instantaneously raising the temperature of his palm to an unbearable degree, he forced the soldier to drop his weapon. Then he pulled the man forward and kneed him in the gut. The man collapsed into a heap as Zuko retrieved his weapon. Giving the pair of broadswords in his hands a test swing, the prince smirked. _Perfect._

The two boys made eye contact again for just a brief moment before wordlessly breaking off. This wasn't the time for talk or congratulations. The fight had only just begun.

* * *

If there was one thing Katara hated more than fighting Ty Lee, it was fighting Ty Lee with a limited supply of water. With no source of water nearby, the amount of liquid in her water skin was all the fighting power she had. That was definitely a bad thing, since she needed to stick with long-range attacks in order to protect herself from her opponent's magic fingers. The only long-range attack currently at her disposal that would not deplete her water supply was the water whip, which she had been relying on for a while now without much success. _Damn that girl and her somersaults!_ And she knew from experience that if she were to keep using the whip, Ty Lee would find an opening before long. She had to switch tactics now. 

Calling back her whip, Katara quickly froze the water into a pole in front of her, reaching from the ground up to the height of her waist. Then with continuous outward sweeps of her hands over the pole, shaving off a thin top layer with every pass, she sent a series of mini ice discs towards her opponent.

Ty Lee, though quick and agile, was unable to dodge all of the attacks, suffering a series of small cuts on her limbs. "Ouch! That hurts!" she said with a wince, as she came out of her series of flips.

Taking this distraction as her opportunity, the waterbender melted her ice pole back down to liquid and reshaped them into a series of ice daggers, suspending them in mid air in front of her. When she swung her arms out to either side, her projectiles sped forth.

Seeing this, the acrobat dived forward just in time, going under the flying weapons, tucking into a roll. As she came out of the roll, she was kneeling right in front of Katara.

The waterbender only had enough time to gasp before Ty Lee dealt a series of jabs to various parts of her waist and legs. Suddenly losing all sensation to the lower half of her body, Katara collapsed to the ground.

Up in the trees, leaping his way back towards the group after leading Mai around in a big loop, said girl still on his tail, Sokka saw what happened to his sister and called out her name in concern. "Katara!"

Not too far away from Katara, fending off four spear wielding soldiers around him with his pair of broadswords, Zuko heard Sokka and turned to seek out the cause of the Water Tribe boy's alarm. Seeing the waterbender on the ground with Ty Lee hovering over her, Zuko realized he needed to wrap up his fight quickly. Jumping back to break away from his opponents, he said, "Come again, all at once."

The four soldiers, now standing in a line, eyed each other then shrugged and charged with their spears.

Now that the spears were lined up nice and neat, all it took was one powerful clean swing of Zuko's swords and the spears all broke in two. As the soldiers stood staring dumbfounded at the short sticks in their hands, the prince turned and ran off, wondering what exactly it was that these men were being taught in the army these days.

Zuko knew he wouldn't get there soon enough, so he threw one of his swords as he ran, aiming for Ty Lee. The acrobat jumped back and cartwheeled away, just as the sword planted itself right where she had been. The prince threw his second sword, forcing the girl to retreat even further. As he reached the fallen waterbender, he picked up the first sword and hurled it once more at Ty Lee, trying to keep her as far back as possible. Then, not waiting to see if it hit or not, he swooped Katara up into his arms and took off.

"Hey, Zuko! That's not fair!" Ty Lee said as she gave chase. Then a boomerang came from behind and passed through the air in front of her, catching her attention. "Oh! It's the cute Water Tribe boy!" she said excitedly. She turned around just as Sokka leaped down from the trees and caught the returning boomerang, looking at her with a serious glare. At that, her smile only brightened. "Looks like you want me to play with you instead."

At this point, Mai had caught up and came down from the trees as well.

"Mai! I'm taking this one. Zuko's all yours!" With Zuko and Katara now forgotten, Ty Lee set her sights on Sokka.

Without saying a word, Mai simply picked up her pace and went after the prince.

* * *

Katara felt rather lame being carried away the way that she was. She was a waterbending master after all. Where was her dignity? "Hey! Put…put me down!" she protested with an embarrassed blush. 

"Scream later! I'm a bit busy right now!" Looking over his shoulder, Zuko realized it was Mai behind him, not Ty Lee. He cursed under his breath.

"Just put me down!"

"Look, we're already at a disadvantage, so stop bothering me! Mai can match my speed without problems. And now that I have a load in my hands, I—"

"Are you saying I'm heavy?!" Katara exclaimed indignantly.

Zuko winced. _Maybe I should have used a more flattering term…_ "If you want to be useful, then spot for me!" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Spot for what?!" As if to answer her question, a series of stilettos rushed past them, much too close for comfort. Turning her head to look behind Zuko, Katara saw Mai with a set of knives held up in her hand, poised for another attack. "To the right!"

Zuko shifted to the right as he ran, anticipating the weapons to come through on his left side. Instead, they came on his right side, and one of the knives made a rather deep cut in his arm, causing him to wince with a hiss.

"No! Don't _move_ to the right!" Katara said sharply. "She's _throwing them_ to the right!"

"Be more specific!!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Toph, Iroh, and Aang were left to deal with the remaining soldiers. Toph, however, didn't think much of it. Though numerous, her opponents weren't much of a challenge. She was just in the middle of thinking that when she heard a sharp swoosh from behind. Her hairs stood on end as she realized what it was. _Arrows!_ But she knew there was no chance of her blocking, because by the time the arrows could be heard, they were already within striking distance. She braced herself for the hit when a strong gust of wind rushed in from her side, forcing the arrows off course. "Twinkle Toes!" 

Another wave of arrows followed the first, but by now Aang had already placed himself between Toph and her attackers who were hiding somewhere up in the trees behind the thick foliage. With his staff in hand, he deflected the aerial attacks. "They brought Yu Yan archers!" He frowned as he continued to defend her. The archers had been up there waiting for their opportunity this entire time. They were targeting Toph specifically because of her blindness, and that made him mad. "Iroh, I'll leave things here to you. I'm going after those archers!"

Aang took off and airbended his way up into the trees within seconds, catching the archers off guard. They retreated, but not before Aang was able to see that there were three of them. The boy pursued.

Back on the ground, Iroh turned to give Aang a response, only to find that he had already disappeared. "Uh…"

"Iroh!" It was Toph this time. "I think Sokka needs some backup! Take care of things here!" With that, she took off as well.

Iroh held out his arm towards her and opened his mouth to ask her to wait, but she was already long gone. The old firebender placed a hand on his forehead and shook with a sigh as all the remaining soldiers surrounded him. Getting into his stance, his eyes scanned across his opponents. "Well, children. Looks like it's just you and me."

* * *

"Ha! Gotcha!" Ty Lee exclaimed triumphantly. After a while of their strike and dodge dance, she finally made a solid hit and immobilized Sokka's right arm. When he swung his other arm at her, she ducked under the limb and came back up behind him. Taking the knife from the leather pouch strapped around his waist, she jumped back, holding up her prize teasingly. 

Sokka turned to face her with knitted brows. "Hey, give that back!" He lunged for it with his good arm many times over, but she skillfully kept it out of his reach.

Ty Lee giggled. "It's like we're frolicking in the woods!"

Sokka smacked his head with his hand, getting agitated. "We are most definitely NOT frolicking! Now give it back!" He reached out again, and this time she jabbed her fingers into his arm, rendering that limb useless as well.

She chuckled and waved the knife in front of him. "Can I keep this as a memento of the fun time we had together today?"

"NO!" Sokka practically screamed while stomping his foot on the ground multiple times. "And it hasn't been fun! What's wrong with you?!"

Ty Lee only chuckled some more at his agitation, but that came to an abrupt stop when she found her feet suddenly encased in stone. She looked down with a gasp. When she looked back up, Sokka's leg was already in mid strike, the bottom of his foot about to connect with her abdomen. Reflexively, she bent back into the bridge position to evade. However, as soon as her hands touched the ground, the earth came up and locked them in place as well. Now that she was finally looking behind her with her head upside down, she saw Toph approaching.

"Now, this seems familiar," Toph said, looming over the captured acrobat with folded arms and a smug grin on her face. This was exactly how she had caught Ty Lee back in Ba Sing Se. "You're not very bright, are you?"

* * *

Weaving through the branches with his glider, Aang was about to catch up with the first archer. Retracting the wings to transform the glider back into a staff while hovering in the airspace above the archer, he twirled the staff in his hands a few times then swung it down, whacking the archer hard on the head. The man lost consciousness so fast, he fell out of the tree without so much as a yelp. 

At this point, one of the two remaining archers turned around and retaliated, shooting multiple arrows at a time in rapid successions as the aribender rushed towards him. The archer's aim was perfect, but Aang's reflexes were equally amazing. The archer wasn't able to do much more than put tears in the boy's clothes. He continued to shoot as the boy drew closer, leaping from branch to branch. Then he saw the boy whip out his glider and jump up into the air.

The archer moved his aim up higher, trailing the glider. But to his surprise, the glider was empty. _A decoy!_ By the time he looked in front of him again, Aang was already coming at him with a flying kick to his chest. The attack knocked him off, and he screamed all the way to the ground with a thud as everything faded to black.

Aang jumped back up to his glider, his eyes scanning the surrounding area. He had lost track of the last archer.

Then a series of arrows came down from above, puncturing numerous holes into his glider. The young monk began to fall, bumping into a few branches along the way. He let go of his glider as he got closer to the ground and sent a blast of air downward to cushion his landing. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he immediately went back up into the trees. However, he had lost sight of the archer again, and everything grew quiet.

The two had entered into a game of hide and seek. Every so often, arrows would come flying at Aang from out of nowhere. But whenever the boy turned to look, he would find no one. _This isn't getting anywhere._

Another string of arrows came from behind Aang, and this time one of them got him in the shoulder. The boy gasped in pain then, losing balance, fell off his perch. After dropping about ten feet, his stomach connected with another branch. "Oof!" His body went limp.

The archer finally came out of hiding and approached the unconscious airbender. Pulling out a rope, he reached out to tie up his captive when the boy suddenly sprung to life and rolled out of the way, snatching the rope with him.

Jumping to his feet with a grin despite the stinging pain from the arrow still lodged in his shoulder, Aang said in an almost singsong voice, "Found you."

The monk swiftly swung the rope, which looped around the back of the archer's calves before returning to the boy's grasp. Pulling on both ends, he tugged the archer's feet out from under him. Aang tied his ankles together with one end of the rope before he had a chance to get back up. Then he secured the other end of the rope around the branch.

Sitting up and finally noticing what was being done to him, the archer blanched. "Wh…what are you doing?"

"This!" Aang said as he kicked the man off.

"AHH!!" The archer screamed in fear as he swung back and forth, hanging upside down.

Aang reached over his shoulder until his hand found the arrow. Then bracing himself, he pulled it out with a hiss. Tossing the arrow aside, he hurried back to help his friends.

* * *

Toph, Sokka, and Aang returned to Iroh at the same time, anxious to help the old firebender out with all the soldiers. However, by the time they got there, they were already too late. 

Littered all over the forest floor was a bunch of unconscious Fire Nation soldiers. Sitting in the middle of it all was Iroh, enjoying a cup of hot tea. Curled up beside him in naptime position was Appa, who had returned after getting his fill of exercise from soldier chasing.

Seeing the young ones return, Iroh looked up with a bright smile. "You came just in time! The tea is ready."

The kids on the other hand, were rendered speechless, finding themselves impressed and terrified all at once.

"I can't believe it…" Sokka finally found his voice. "The Dragon of the West just flexed his muscles, and we ALL missed it!!!" he hollered as his arms dangled limply from side to side. He frowned down at his swaying limbs then eyed the two benders standing beside him. "Hey, guys. Little help with the arms here?"

Toph and Aang both sighed, but did as he asked, each holding one of his arms up.

With his dramatic body expression in place, Sokka repeated himself. "…and we ALL missed it!!!"

Looking around, Aang suddenly realized something. "Where're Zuko and Katara?"

* * *

Zuko knew he couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. Mai was closing in. He had to fight. Tossing Katara over one shoulder, holding her in place with one arm, he turned to prepare for his opponent's arrival. 

Katara, with the top half of her body now draping upside down over Zuko's back, gritted her teeth, thinking that this must undoubtedly be the worst day of her life. "Hey! What do you think I am?! A piece of meat?!" She pounded his back in frustration.

The prince winced. "Deal with it! I can't fight with no hands!" Distracted, he nearly got caught in a spray of throwing stars. Following closely behind the weapons was Mai.

Zuko jumped back and swung his free arm in a downward arc to set the ground on fire, raising a wall of flames between himself and his attacker. However, that didn't really buy him much time. Moments later, Mai burst through the flames with a pair of stilettos in her hands, ready for close combat.

It didn't take long for Zuko to realize that fighting the girl was an equally bad idea. Mai was quick and precise. It took everything he had just to steer clear of her weapons' thrusts. And with a load…correction: with a delicate ton of weight on his shoulder, which he was trying to keep away from her, she had him completely on the defensive.

Just then, he spotted something in his peripheral vision. There was a cave at the base of a small cliff, not too far away. If he could outrun her and get there first, he might have a chance.

Ducking down to avoid Mai's next attack, he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it into her eyes. When she shielded with her sleeve, he made a run for it towards the cave.

Mai followed, pausing at the cave entrance to take another look at the forest behind her before going in. With her eyes still not adjusted to the dark, she moved forward with cautious steps, keeping her ears open.

Then a stream of flames came at her from somewhere off to the side, momentarily lighting up the cave as it scorched her upper arm. She had barely registered the pain when she received a kick to her side that sent her to the ground. "Ow," she said as she placed a hand over her aching side. "That hurts, Zuko." To anyone who didn't know Mai, that statement would have sounded flat. But by Mai's standards, that tone of voice expressed plenty of agitation.

She scooted over to the cave wall so she could lean up against it and examine the burn on her arm. Now that her eyes were accustomed to the dimness, she could see that it wasn't pretty. Even the slightest touch caused her to suck in her breath through gritted teeth. "Damn. If I knew how much this stings, I wouldn't have let you get me."

Still breathing hard, Zuko remained in stance, though he really wasn't quite sure what he should do. He was more confused than anything else. Mai had been recruited by Azula to help her capture Aang and himself. But despite all that, she had helped him escape. And now she was pursuing him again. He frowned. "What's your game, Mai? Where's Azula?"

She held his gaze for a moment then looked away before speaking. "Listen to me, Zuko. I don't have much time," she said, her voice all business now. "Azula sent Ty Lee and myself to capture you, Iroh, and the Avatar while she remains in Ba Sing Se to play ruler. But…she probably expects that we'd fail. She already knows about the whole solar eclipse thing, you know. She's maneuvering troops from other Fire Nation controlled cities in the Earth Kingdom to Ba Sing Se and even requested troops from the Fire Nation itself. With Ba Sing Se as her base, she's planning a massive attack on a number of neighboring major cities…all to take place around the time of the solar eclipse when the Avatar can be expected to be at the Fire Nation."

Katara's eyes widened, suddenly forgetting that she was being lugged around like a sack of potatoes. _Is she giving us information?_

"But if Azula knows about the eclipse, why would she take troops away from the Fire Nation and lessen their defenses?" Zuko questioned, unconvinced. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Obviously, neither she nor the Fire Lord himself considers six people on a giant fuzz ball…Avatar or not…as much of an invasion," Mai retorted. They stared at each other, letting the words sink in. Then Mai looked away again. "Well, I just thought you should know."

Zuko scrutinized her carefully. "You expect me to believe you'd betray Azula?"

"Didn't I do that once already?" she replied in her usual half-bored tone of voice. Then she cast her eyes downward, looking within. "Azula's been my friend since childhood. She can make me do a lot of things, but…not everything."

Zuko knew better than to simply take everything at face value. Mai was one of Azula's closest allies after all. "Give me a reason why I should trust you."

"Because we need you," she said, truly serious for the first time.

Zuko frowned. "We? Who's we?"

Mai sighed. "Your country, Zuko. Your people. They're tired of this war."

Even Katara couldn't believe her ears.

"You've been away from our homeland, so I'm not surprised that you don't know," the Fire Nation girl continued. "But ever since the reappearance of the Avatar, there's been a lot of talk among the common class. Heck, even some of the nobles have whispered it."

The prince raised a brow. "Talk?"

"We've been forced to fight this stupid war for generations, endlessly and hopelessly. But with the Avatar's return, people have become a bit more…optimistic. The Avatar doesn't just bring hope to the other nations, Zuko. He brings hope to us, too. Many are starting to believe that the end is near."

"With the recent fall of Ba Sing Se and the soon to return Sozin's Comet, the Fire Nation is practically on the verge of complete victory. The end is already in sight. So, why would they feel the need to depend on the Avatar for anything?" Zuko argued.

Mai glared up at him. "Did you not hear anything I just said?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically stern. "With what Azula's planning, many people are going to die. Not just Earth Kingdom but Fire Nation as well. What kind of world do you think this will become should Fire Lord Ozai succeed in conquering it?"

Zuko said nothing. He knew all too well. True, the end of the war may be in sight. But if his father wins, the fighting will not stop.

"If we win, it'll just be a victory for the Fire Lord and his high council, not the Fire Nation," Mai continued, echoing his thoughts. "You know how it works. Those in power hunger for more power, and they'll use whatever means necessary to attain their goals, even at the expense of their own people. _You_ of all people should know that. Or did you forget how you came to be banished?"

Zuko glared, but Mai didn't back down, glaring in return.

Perched up in her isolated spot, completely ignored by the other two, Katara wondered what Zuko's banishment had to do with any of this.

Mai's eyes softened, as did her voice. "It's time for change, Zuko. You're much more than what you are right now. I know it. Your people are waiting for you."

"I'm banished, remember?" Zuko said, his eyes downcast. "You just said so yourself. Nobody's waiting for me."

"You were banished by your father, not your people. Your scar is proof of your loyalty. They won't cast you aside so easily."

Katara perked up again. _His scar?_

"Not many people know about my Agni Kai. Fewer still who knows the reasons behind it."

A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Mai's lips. "Yes, well…I may have _accidentally_ leaked some of that information here and there. Not to mention the crew who went into exile with you and lived to talk about it. They've been more than willing to retell the tragic tale of how their young prince incurred the Fire Lord's wrath in his foolish, yet, noble attempt to defend his people."

Zuko scowled and grumbled at her obvious teasing, causing Mai to actually laugh lightly.

"This sort of underground information spreads quickly. Many more know about it than you think." She got to her feet and winced slightly at the pain in her arm. "I better go before the others catch up." She started to head out.

"Mai, wait!" Zuko called after her. "I can ask Katara to heal that for you." His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the waterbender over his shoulder. "Oh! Katara!" Setting the girl back on the ground, he gave her an apologetic look. "Can you stand?"

Katara glared daggers at him but nodded nonetheless. With her legs still feeling a bit wobbly, she held on to his arm for support.

"Are you retarded?" Mai asked, back to her old self again. "After all the trouble I went through to get this, you want to heal it? If I'm going to go back empty handed again, I figured I'd better have something to show for it. Azula will laugh at me, but that's better than the alternative." She turned to go.

"Mai!" Zuko stopped her again. "What you're doing…this is treason. Do you understand what you could be getting yourself into?"

Mai turned her head slightly, her back still to them. "Whether or not it's treason depends on where your loyalties lie. And I'm afraid mine has always been with the clumsy boy who fell into a pond trying to save a girl from a flaming apple."

"Mai…" Zuko was completely dumbfounded.

She met his eyes with a small smile. "I'll be waiting for your return…Prince Zuko." That said, she headed back to look for her friend while Zuko was left staring at the spot where she had just been, trying to process everything that had passed between them.

Beside him, Katara was doing pretty much the same thing. Mai seemed to be quite different from what she had always believed. There was more to her than just someone who was searching for a way to cure her boredom. When she was talking with Zuko, it was like she came to life somehow. It was as though that was the real Mai, which she kept masked away most of the time. Katara couldn't help but be impressed by her loyalty to Zuko as well as her people.

Katara turned her thoughts to Zuko. She didn't understand everything that he and Mai had talked about, but from their conversation, she was able to get a pretty good idea about what had happened to him in the past. Things started falling into place, and she felt she had gained a little more insight as to why he was the way he was. Looking back at Zuko, she was beginning to see him in a whole new light.

* * *

A/N: I wish I could animate this chapter. The action would be so much easier to tell in pictures than in words. I hope I didn't lose anyone in the mayhem. Heh… I'm so used to typing "Zuko" that whenever I try to type Azula, I always end up typing "Azuko". It's getting on my nerves!! Does this happen to anyone else? Haha! Well, now that I've got this chapter posted, I can go see Spiderman in peace this weekend. Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

There were many good things about having a high altitude meeting in Appa's saddle. The most important one, aside from it being the world's first and only open-roof airborne war room with a one-of-a-kind view, was the fact that there was absolutely no chance of anyone eavesdropping on their discussion. It was within this secure environment that Zuko relayed everything that Mai had told him…everything minus the various more personal aspects of their conversation, of course.

Iroh wore a contemplative frown as he digested the information. "Without a doubt, my niece is a very aggressive and calculating warrior. I have to give her credit for always thinking ahead." He gave his beard a thoughtful stroke as all eyes turned to him. "It appears she is trying to ensure her own power with this massive invasion. She most likely does not expect her father to lose to the Avatar. However, if the Fire Nation should fall during the solar eclipse, she will still have secured her_ own _place as ruler of the entire Earth Kingdom."

"Not to mention getting a good chunk of the Fire Nation army in the process," Toph chimed in.

"Then what should we do?" Aang asked, his brows creased with worry. "I don't think we can stay here and miss the opportunity of defeating the Fire Lord during the eclipse."

"Can we send word to the other cities and warn them?" Katara suggested.

"Yes, but would that be enough?" Iroh asked rhetorically. "The other cities can hardly compare with Ba Sing Se's resources and military power to begin with. And now there will be the addition of countless Fire Nation troops to fend off."

"How can we even be sure that the gloomy girl isn't lying?" Sokka asked skeptically. "Maybe they're trying to keep us here to prevent us from invading the Fire Nation. Did you ever think of that?"

"Her story corroborates with what we've seen and heard about Fire Nation troops moving north," Zuko stated simply. "That's where Ba Sing Se is. And…I trust Mai was telling the truth."

"Yeah, you would," Sokka snorted. "You're both Fire Na- OW!" He glared at his sister beside him who had just given the back of his head a solid whack.

Katara shot her brother a reprimanding look before speaking. "Actually, I believe her as well. I was there. Her words seemed sincere as far as I could tell." She exchanged a glance with the banished prince.

Sokka folded his arms with a pout, feeling like Zuko and Katara were ganging up on him and not liking that one bit. "Well…if she was so sincere, then why did she go back to Azula? Huh?"

"Sokka, you must consider the delicate position Mai is in," Iroh began calmly. "If she were found out, it would put not just herself, but her family at great risk. Openly opposing Azula would be dangerous and unwise."

"Punishment for high treason in the Fire Nation is the beheading of one's entire extended family, including every last servant who works or has ever worked for them," Zuko explained. "It's not something to be taken lightly."

Sokka, almost sick to his stomach just from hearing that, narrowed his eyes at Zuko and hissed, "Your country is just downright creepy."

"All right, so then back to the original question," Toph said before the topic veered off course. "What should we do?"

Silence.

Aang looked around the group, scratching his face with a finger. "Well…we don't have to make a decision right now. Let's think this over some more."

Since nobody had any better ideas, their silence served as their agreement.

* * *

Zuko sat on a log by a fire, facing out towards a small lake. It was late in the night. Aside from the soft sounds of the crackling fire, the singing cricket moths in the trees, and the periodic splashes made by the fishes in the lake, everything was quiet. He looked over his shoulder briefly. Everyone else was tucked away in his or her sleeping bag or earth tent, off in dreamland somewhere. 

Ever since the ambush, they had decided that they needed to be more cautious. Now they took turns keeping watch at night, and it was currently Zuko's watch. With nothing better to do, he ignited a ball of fire in his hand and played with it idly, passing it from one hand to the other and manipulating the size of the flame, as he became lost in thought.

The sound of a snapping twig pulled Zuko out of his reverie. He jumped to his feet and whirled around, ready for a fight.

Katara held both hands up in surrender position, backing up a step at his sudden response. "Sorry…didn't mean to scare you."

Zuko dropped his stance, letting out a breath as his tension dissipated. "What are you doing up so soon?" he asked as he plopped back down onto the log. "It's still a while before your shift."

Katara shrugged as she sat down beside him. "It's easier to pass the time if you're not sitting here by yourself. So, if I keep you company through your shift, will you do the same for me?" She plastered a smile on her face.

Zuko only blinked at her, not exactly amused. "You want me to sit here twice as long…in exchange for your company," he stated in that are-you-kidding-me tone of voice.

Her smile only widened. "It's worth it, don't you think?"

"I like my sleep," he said, deadpan.

"Don't be such a baby," she laughed.

He frowned at her. "Who's the baby? You're the one who can't sit here by yourself."

She clasped her hands together in front of her face. "Please?"

After a moment's pause, Zuko looked away with a sigh. "Fine, whatever."

Katara chuckled contently to herself over her little victory. She was beginning to understand what Toph meant when she said that Zuko was "fun". She can't deny that she was acquiring a bit of a taste for it herself.

They sat together in a comfortable silence. Zuko resumed his previous pastime of playing with a ball of flames in his hands, all the while staring at the crackling campfire with unfocused eyes.

Glancing over at him, Katara asked, "Are you thinking about Mai?"

"I just…I never knew," Zuko said as he frowned in thought, his eyes still on the campfire. "I mean, I've known her since we were children, but I always saw her as being Azula's friend before being my friend. They had always been so much closer. So, I was surprised…overwhelmed, actually…when she…" He trailed off, tilting his head to the side a little, still too much in disbelief to actually say it.

"When she declared her loyalties to you?" Katara finished for him.

"I just never knew…" Zuko repeated, his voice barely a whisper.

"So, you saved her from a flaming apple, huh?" Katara asked with a sly grin.

Zuko laughed lightly with a shake of his head as he recalled that disastrous event. "That was…just…don't ask. It was more embarrassing than it was heroic."

"I gathered as much." She teased with a small grin. "Well, I don't think it's strange that Mai's not siding with Azula. They seem to have fundamentally different values."

The prince frowned as he looked inward. "To be honest, Mai's words felt more like a slap to the face. Here she is, doing everything she can to help our people. But me? What have I been doing this whole time? Just blindly doing what my father's telling me…chasing false honor… I've been nothing but a useless fool."

Katara offered an understanding smile. "Realizing it is a good start."

"I don't understand why everybody's waiting for me," he continued, truly perplexed. "Aang's waiting for me. Uncle Iroh's waiting for me. Mai's waiting for me. I haven't done anything to deserve their faith…and I'm not sure I can live up to any of their expectations."

Katara leaned back on her hands and stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles. "You know, the people you just mentioned are among the most incredible people I've ever met. If they all agree on something, then…have you ever considered that maybe you're the one who's got it wrong?" She shrugged when Zuko turned and stared at her. "Just a thought."

Zuko blinked. That thought had never really occurred to him, and he wondered why. Perhaps it was because he had always reflected on himself based on his father's standards. His father saw him as a failure, so he believed himself to be a failure. Even though now he had recognized the difference in their values and determined that he no longer seek his father's approval, he never really thought to reevaluate himself based on that change. The people he cared for, the people he trusted…what do they think? His friends, his uncle, his…

Zuko closed his hand around the fireball, extinguishing the flame. "Katara…if someone says to you that you shouldn't forget who you are, how would you interpret that?"

Katara leaned back, giving him a slight questioning frown. "There's a vague question. Some more context would be nice."

The prince sighed, not really wanting to say. "Someone important said it to me a long time ago…as parting words."

"Oh…" She realized now that he was asking her something serious, something of importance to him.

"It's all right if you don't have an answer," Zuko added after a short pause, starting to regret having asked the question. "You just seem so motherly the way you take care of everyone. I thought you might have some insight."

"I see," she replied gently. "So it was your mother."

He simply nodded as he stared out at the lake.

Katara took a deep breath, looking up to the stars for inspiration. "Well, I don't know about any insight, but…when I was younger, my mother used to always tell me that I should just follow my heart and be myself."

Zuko turned to look at her, giving her his full attention.

She spared him a sideways glance before continuing her story. "Believe it or not, when I was around five or six years old, I used to try to imitate Sokka. He's my older brother, and I looked up to him as a role model. So, I'd run around waving my toy boomerang in the air, yelling all kinds of nonsense. Eat a ton of meat. Laugh hysterically at nothing in particular and tell a bunch of lame jokes."

Supporting his elbow on his knee, Zuko placed his fist over his lips as casually as possible to try to hide his lopsided smile and keep himself from laughing outright.

"Sokka was happy, of course, because he had a follower, and he'd diligently teach me 'The Sokka Way'." She rolled her eyes at the memory. "But pretty much everyone else found it annoying. It was actually kind of tiring for me, too. It just wasn't me, and I wasn't really enjoying myself all that much. After a while, my mom finally said to me that I'm Katara, not Sokka. I shouldn't just blindly follow his lead in terrorizing penguins if I don't feel it in my heart. I shouldn't force myself to do lame things…and yes, she did use the word lame…just to meet his expectations and get his praise. I need to be myself and do what I feel is right for me. I was so relieved after she said that. I stopped my crazy antics. Sokka pouted at my mom for days after that, but he eventually got over it." She paused a moment as she added some more wood to the dwindling campfire. "So, long story short…to not forget who you are…to follow your heart and be yourself… I think they're just different ways of saying that we should live by what we believe in. Don't you agree?"

Katara poked at the campfire with a stick as she shook her head with a light laugh. "I love my brother and all, but…I'm SO glad I took my mother's advice."

An amused smirk tugged on Zuko's lips. "I would have to agree." One Sokka in the group was plenty. Two would put his sanity in jeopardy. With a casual wave of his hand, he revived the flames in the campfire.

Throwing her stick into the flames, Katara turned to Zuko. "So. Did that help?"

Zuko gave that question some thought. "Yes. I think it did."

"See! You're already reaping the benefits of the double shift, and it hasn't even been that long." Katara grinned.

He flashed her the unconvinced look before going back to playing with his fireball.

Silence fell over them once more and remained there for a good while. When Zuko eventually turned her way again, he found her with her elbows on her knees, her face cupped in her hands as she nodded off to dreamland. The prince raised his brow. "I thought you said you were going to keep me company."

Katara, with her eyes still closed, replied sleepily, "I _am_ keeping you company."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "If you're _that_ tired, you should just go back to sleep."

The waterbender sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, maybe you're right." She scooted closer to the prince, giving his shoulder a few light slaps to brush off any dirt before proceeding with leaning on it. "Wake me up when it's my shift." She yawned and closed her eyes.

After recovering from the shock of realizing that he had been downgraded to pillow status, Zuko couldn't help but sigh. _Why is she being so stubborn?_ "Just go back to your sleeping bag. You don't have to sit here with me."

Katara waved a half-asleep dismissive hand. "No, here's fine." Then she cracked open one eye to peek up at him. "Am I in your way?"

Zuko turned his head the other way, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "It…it's fine." She didn't say anything in response, but it wasn't long before he could feel her shaking. The prince frowned. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No," she denied, laughter obviously in her voice. "I wouldn't dream of it, Your Highness."

"Would you stop calling me that?" he grumbled.

"As you wish…Your Highness."

Zuko was about to retort, but he bit his tongue. He already knew he wasn't going to win this one, so he thought it best to quit before losing too much more of his dignity. With a huff, he mumbled incoherently to himself. "Crazy waterbending peasant."

Katara fell asleep shortly with a smile on her face. Yes, she was definitely acquiring a taste for this.

From somewhere behind them, the youngest pair of the group had actually been propped up on their elbows, watching the whole thing from their respective sleeping bag and earth tent.

"It's fine, he says." Toph snickered with a sly smirk. "Yeah, right. I can feel his heart pounding from all the way over here." She grinned to herself, new schemes for messing with her favorite prince already brewing in her mind. Then she turned to Aang. "How about you, Twinkle Toes? Are you fine?"

"Huh?" The young monk blinked at her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, come on." Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "It's only been glaringly obvious that you like Katara…a lot."

"Oh…" He cast his eyes downward momentarily. "But…it wasn't meant to be. I mean…it was probably also _glaringly_ obvious that she didn't feel the same way about me, right?"

Toph winced slightly. "That…well…uh…"

Aang watched her stumble over her words with an amused grin. Her inability to give him a blunt reply as usual was actually kind of touching. "Don't worry, Toph. I've sort of already made peace with it." He turned his eyes back to Zuko and Katara in contemplation. "I'm actually not as broken up about it as I thought I would be. I'm happy for them."

He placed his hand over Toph's with a thankful smile. "I'll be all right."

To that, the earthbender responded with a gentle smile of her own.

* * *

A/N: A couple of people have mentioned that they're not in favor of a Zuko/Katara relationship. To those I'd just like to say sorry things aren't _quite_ going your way. But I hate to call it a "Zutara", because the story really is Zuko-centric. His relationship with Katara is not the focus. I do prefer this pairing, because I find it the most meaningful. However, since I started working on this story, I'm finding that I don't mind Zuko/Mai or Zuko/Toph pairings either. Haha! Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Sitting across from his nephew, the old firebender waved his hand in front of the youth's face again and put on a slightly perplexed frown when there was still no reaction. He and Zuko often meditated together, but never for quite this long. Iroh's bones were already aching from sitting in the same position for what seemed like hours, but Zuko remained still as a statue. For the boy to not even notice a waving hand mere inches from his face, he must be extremely focused on whatever it was he was meditating about.

Iroh was about to resort to blowing on Zuko's face when the boy finally stirred. The old man quickly retreated, getting back into his meditative sitting posture before his nephew opened his eyes.

"Uncle?"

"Yes, Zuko?" Iroh replied with closed eyes, his voice filled with serenity as though he had been in deep thoughts the entire time.

"Do you think my people will accept me if I were to return to the Fire Nation?"

Iroh's eyes snapped open, and he blinked at his nephew's serious expression for a stunned moment. The question was unexpected. Unexpected, but not unwelcomed. "That depends on your worthiness. Do you feel you are worthy of your people?"

The prince cast his eyes downward as he gave that question some thought. "I've been so focused on myself these past few years, I'd completely neglected my country's needs. I've been so consumed by regaining my honor, I forgot why I lost it to begin with. I forgot who I was…" He looked back up to meet his uncle's eyes. "As I am now, I don't deserve the trust and respect of my people."

Iroh stroked his beard as he nodded. "Trust and respect are tricky things, for they require so much to earn, but so little to lose. If your desire is to earn your people's trust, you must be prepared to prove yourself over and over again. It is no easy task."

Zuko simply nodded. "I understand."

Sensing a certain amount of resolve in his nephew's voice, Iroh asked, "So, what will you do, Prince Zuko?"

The youth smirked. "I suppose I better get started." He got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his pants. "Where's Aang? I need to speak with him."

"He and Toph went off somewhere for earthbending practice," Iroh replied as he picked up the cold teapot that had been sitting beside him. Wrapping both hands around the pot, he heated the tea back up in no time.

"I'll go look for him then," Zuko said as he turned to go.

"But wait. Aren't you forgetting something?" Iroh asked as he poured himself a cup of steaming hot tea.

Zuko raised a questioning brow.

"It's almost sunset. You don't want to miss your little date with Katara now, do you?" The old man could barely hide his teasing smile.

Zuko stumbled. With his mind so occupied with various things, he had completely forgotten about his daily ritual with the waterbender. More importantly, how did his uncle know about that? But even _more_ importantly… "Uncle. It's called a sparring match." With that, he whirled around and walked off as quickly as humanly possible before his uncle could say another word while trying not to appear hurried.

Iroh chuckled to himself as he took a sip of his tea. "It's a date."

* * *

After his spar with Katara, Zuko went to look for Aang. It took a while before he finally spotted the airbender and his earthbending teacher at the bottom of a small canyon. The two of them were lying on their backs with arms and legs spread out like they were about to make dirt angels. 

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked as he approached the lazily lounging pair.

"Oh, hey, Zuko," Aang greeted without moving from his position. "Nothing much. Just enjoying the night view."

"Yeah. The stars are quite spectacular from down here," Toph said. "I think that one's the prettiest." She pointed up into the night sky with a great big smile.

Watching the girl, Zuko couldn't keep the smile from tugging at the corner of his lips. However, he had learned by now when _not_ to turn his head.

Toph smirked up at the prince. "Not taking the bait, huh? Well, there's always next time." She stood up with a stretch. "I think I've stargazed enough for the night. I'm going to head back.

"All right," the monk said cheerily. "See you later, Toph."

As Toph walked past Zuko, she shoved him in the side with her hand, earning herself a light shove on her head from the prince in return. She chuckled. "I'll get you next time, Sparky, so you better stay on your toes." With that she headed back to camp.

Zuko turned to Aang. "Were you two earthbending this entire time?"

"Actually, we got tired a while ago," the younger boy replied, still making no signs of wanting to get up.

"So, you're rested then," the firebender noted. "That's good."

Aang arched a brow. "Why?"

Zuko shrugged. "I just think that you and I are long overdue for another match, that's all."

"What? You mean right now?" Aang asked, a bit confused.

The prince smirked. "Yes. Right now." He attacked immediately, sending a blast of flames at Aang.

The boy rolled back and jumped to his feet with amazing reflexes, stumbling back a few steps as he nearly lost his balance. After getting over his initial surprise, a grin spread across the airbender's face. Even though they had fought countless times before, this fight would be different. This fight would be about testing each other's strengths as friends and not thwarting each other's goals as enemies. It would be their first fight without freedom and honor at stake. There was no way he would pass up on this, no matter how tired he was. Aang was up for the challenge.

Zuko advanced, throwing another flame-laced punch at Aang. With an airbending-enhanced leap, the monk levitated himself above the flame's path. Placing his hands on the prince's outstretched arm, using it as support, he somersaulted over Zuko's head and landed behind his back.

Zuko tried turning to the left, then to the right. But no matter which way he turned, Aang would shift along with him in order to maintain his position directly behind the prince. Memory of their first fight aboard his ship floated to the surface of Zuko's mind. The boy had used the same technique back then. However, the outcome will not be the same this time.

Zuko feigned a turn to the left, then quickly whirled around from the right, catching Aang off guard. Fisting both hands into the folds of the boy's clothes, the prince picked him up off the ground and tossed him.

"AAHH!!" Aang hollered as he was about to meet the ground headfirst. However, instead of crashing onto the earth, he dived into it as though it was a body of water and disappeared.

Zuko's eyes widened, amazed. That was something he had never seen the airbender do before. He cast his eyes about, trying to look for any movement in the ground. Sliding his foot across the earth to widen his stance, he thought it might be appropriate to attempt Toph's tactics in this situation. Zuko was no earthbending master…or even an earthbender at all…but he should at least be able to detect something as big as Aang rumbling towards him from the ground.

What Zuko forgot to factor in, however, was the fact that Aang didn't need to approach him in order to attack. Before the prince knew it, a ring of earthen poles sprung up all around him, effectively trapping him in a makeshift prison about ten feet in diameter.

At this point, Aang resurfaced with a wide grin on his face. "What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?"

Zuko studied the "jail bars" around him. They weren't just loose earth that could be easily kicked down. The airbender had hardened them into stone. "I'll admit that the earth diving move was interesting, but did you really think that this could hold me?"

Aang shrugged. "Not really. But it'll be fun to watch you try to get out." He planted his butt on the ground and folded his arms, watching the prince with a grin.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the boy before moving back to the middle of the circle. Taking a deep breath, he got down into stance. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure if this was going to work or not.

With a downward thrust of his hand, the firebender sent a wave of flames towards the ground, creating a small ring of fire around himself. Bringing his hands together in front of his abdomen with his palms facing up, he inhaled deeply, allowing the energy to gather at his center. Then pushing his arms out to either side with opened palms as he exhaled, he sent the ring of fire out to meet the ring of stones, setting them ablaze.

Zuko cast his eyes about, assessing the damage. _Not enough._

Calming himself, the prince created another ring of fire around his feet and repeated the process, concentrating on the energy that channeled through his body before extending beyond. As he pushed the second wave of flames out, the color of the fire began to change. By the time it reached the stone poles, the flames had turned to blue. Under the intense heat of the blue flames, the poles began to melt at the base, toppling to the ground one after another.

Outside the now crumbled prison, Aang jumped to his feet with wide-eyed shock. "Zuko, when did you…?" He didn't get a response. With a contemplative look on his face, the firebender appeared to be lost in thought. Aang went over to join his friend.

When Zuko finally looked at the boy, he asked a question of his own. "Aang, do you know what sets firebending apart from the other bendings?"

The young monk blinked at the unexpected question. Then he gave it some thought, recalling his careless mistake as well as the words of Jeong Jeong. "Yes," he said, his voice sad. "Unlike the other elements, fire has a life of its own. Without control, it will simply spread and consume everything in its path."

Zuko raised a brow. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"I got ahead of myself and tried to learn firebending before I was ready," the boy explained with downcast eyes. "The master I was learning from told me I lacked discipline, and…well…he was right. At the time, I saw it as learning a few new tricks to play with. I was fooling around, and…ended up hurting Katara."

The firebender chewed on those words for a moment. "Are you afraid of it, then?"

Aang looked up at Zuko with a small smile. "Maybe. But I know it's something I have to do, so…I have to get over it. It would be silly to tell the world, 'sorry, I can't save you because I'm afraid to light a fire,' right?"

The prince smirked. "If that's how you think, then you won't lose control of it again."

The monk gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

"Your answer to my question…it's not wrong, but it's not really the key either," Zuko explained. "When you're bending the other elements, you're manipulating things in your surrounding. But with firebending, the fire comes from inside you." He held up his palm and summoned a small flame to demonstrate. "It's the only form of bending where _you_ have to create the element yourself."

"Yeah…" Aang said, clearly not understanding where this logic was going. "So…?"

"It means that the power of a firebender's attack is the most dependent on the bender himself. A waterbender could make a bigger wave if there were more water. An earthbender could throw a thicker slab if there were more earth. But with firebending, whether your fire comes out as a flicker or a blaze depends solely on what's inside you. There's no outside source to rely on."

"Ah," the monk said as the lights came on. "I get it now!"

"Good. So, here's my next question. If the fire has to come from within you, then what's the thing inside that dictates the strength of that fire?"

Aang scratched his head. He wasn't sure how he ended up in this question and answer session. "Uh…aggression, right? Firebending's all about aggression."

The prince smirked. "It's will. The stronger your will, the stronger your firebending. People tend to think it's aggression, but that's because strong will and aggression often go hand in hand. But aggression without will is just recklessness, and recklessness can never truly tame the fire. However, if you have a strong will, the flames will listen to your command. You might have been reckless before, but...right now, I think you fall under this category."

"Really?!" Aang perked up. It was unusual for the prince to say anything remotely praise-like. In fact, it was unusual for him to say any of the things that he'd been saying so far…

"Yes," Zuko said with a thoughtful look. "You have a goal that you're determined to reach. Everything you're doing, you do for that purpose. That takes a lot of will power. Focus on that strength whenever you firebend, and the flames will remain under your control."

Aang simply stared up at him, speechless. Something in his mind was starting to click…

Zuko raised a brow. "What? Don't believe me? Try it, then."

The airbender shook his head and waved his arms. "Woah, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Zuko…are you…are you teaching me firebending?" he asked, somewhat hopeful but uncertain.

The prince heaved a small sigh. "Patience has never been one of my defining attributes, so you better be a fast learner."

"YES!!" Aang exclaimed as he leaped into the air and did a happy dance. "I've been waiting for this forever!!" He was overcome with excitement. "But tell me this first…that blue fire from before? How'd you do that?! I'd only seen Azula use it. Will I be able to do it, too?!"

Zuko thought back to his little stunt earlier. It seemed strange, but, despite it being his first time calling forth the blue flame, he hadn't been all too surprised by it. It was almost like he knew it would happen. He had sorted through his feelings and made his decisions. With the resolution of his inner struggles finally came the mastery of his element. Now the blue flame was his. "My uncle told me that in order to be able to use the more advanced firebending techniques, I had to straighten out my inner turmoil and gain balance within myself." He cocked a brow at the younger boy. "I don't really see that as a problem for you. You are the Avatar after all, and you have a much better grasp on this balance stuff than I do anyway. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do it."

Aang's smile only brightened. Even though Zuko's tone of voice was more analytical than anything else, his words told Aang that he believed in him. "So…if you can summon blue flames now, then does that mean you figured something out?"

At that, Zuko gave a slight grin. "I know where we should go from here."

* * *

The next morning, Katara went out looking for Zuko and Aang since neither of them had returned to camp the night before. Despite Toph's assurance that they were both fine, Katara had to make sure for herself. 

When she spotted the two of them sparring where Toph said they'd be, she breathed a bit easier. _Had they been sparring all night?_ Then as she got closer, she gasped when she realized that both boys were firebending. Excited, she broke into a run. "Aang!"

The sparring stopped as Aang turned to Katara with a great big smile. "Katara! Look what I can do!!" He immediately demonstrated some firebending moves.

"That's wonderful, Aang! I'm so happy for you!" She pulled the boy into an embrace.

Then she turned around and hugged Zuko with gratitude. "Thank you!" In the flow of things, she planted a kiss on his lips. It wasn't until she had turned around and was about to talk to Aang again that her actions registered in her mind. She froze. _That didn't just happen._ She immediately whipped around, staring at Zuko with wide eyes. "Uh…" It really didn't help that he just stared back at her, his features void of emotion. Blushing uncontrollably from embarrassment, Katara inwardly cursed herself. "I…um…just got caught up in all the excitement…sorry." She laughed nervously.

"I don't know, Zuko," Aang chimed in, a smile tugging at his lips. "She never kissed _me_ like that by accident."

Katara turned and glared at the boy. "Aang! Not helping!"

The boy only grinned.

Katara placed a hand to her temples. "You know, I'm…I'm gonna go. Breakfast is ready if you guys want to eat." She figured now would be a good time to go find a nice big rock to crawl under, but she didn't get very far before Zuko grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Hardly even had time to yelp her surprise before he sealed his lips over hers. With one hand on her waist, his other one found its way behind her head. As graceful as Katara usually was, her arms flailed awkwardly about before finally resting on his shoulders, if only just to keep herself from falling since her legs didn't seem to be providing adequate support at that moment.

When their lips parted, Katara blinked a few times, feeling a bit hazy and disoriented. "Wh…what the heck was that?"

Zuko simply shrugged. "Rematch?"

Katara couldn't help but laugh. That was probably the most unromantic thing that he could say, but she supposed that was also a part of his quirky charm. She shook her head and smiled. "Zuko: one. Katara: zero."

The prince gave a slight smirk. "That's what I thought."

Beside them, the forgotten airbender burst out into laughter. "Good one, Zuko!" When Katara glared at him again, the boy just laughed harder then took off on an air scooter. When he was at a safe distance away, he called back, "I'm definitely telling Toph!"

At that prompt, the waterbender gave chase. "Get back here, you!"

Zuko would have followed them back to camp if it wasn't for the dark presence he was suddenly sensing from behind. He turned around to find that dark presence in the form of Sokka, glaring daggers at him. How he managed to get this close without any of them knowing was beyond the prince. _This can't be good._ Zuko braced himself for what's to come.

Sokka stomped up to the firebender, fisting both hands in his clothes. "Do you have any idea what you just did?! I can't believe I just watched my own sister…!" He roughly let go of Zuko and placed one hand on his forehead. "Ugh, I'm gonna have to go wash out my eyes!"

Zuko frowned, a bit perplexed, when the punch he was expecting didn't come. He was relieved, of course, but confused. "…are you all right?"

Sokka sank to squatting position, sighing in agitation as he rubbed his temples. "Yeah, just…you know…I _saw_ it coming, but…I just wasn't prepared to actually _see_ it, all right?" He shook his head. "My poor eyes!"

Zuko raised a brow. It seemed Sokka's train of thought was on a completely different tangent. Thinking out loud, he mumbled, "I suppose it _would_ be traumatizing if I were to see Azula…" Zuko's eye twitched. The image that sprung up in his mind prevented him from finishing his sentence.

Sokka narrowed his eyes, his face twitching as he turned his head slowly to look up at Zuko. "That would be traumatizing for _anyone_…" he said in a strained and horrified voice. "Not just you… Don't even go there."

Zuko blinked down at him and couldn't help a small chuckle. "That's probably true."

To that, Sokka chuckled with another shake of his head.

Zuko didn't ask, and Sokka didn't try to explain. It became something of a silent understanding between the two. The lack of rage on Sokka's part was enough of a confirmation that he had accepted Zuko as part of their team. And it wasn't until this moment that they both truly realized that.

* * *

A/N: That's right, people. A kiss in the name of rematch. Sorry if it may seem lacking in any way, but lovey-dovey just isn't my specialty. That's about as much as you're gonna get out of me. Haha! In any case, I don't see Zuko going all out at this stage in his life anyway. He's such a blockhead. Haha! The firebending conversation was surprisingly difficult to work out, so I hope it makes sense. Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"We're going back to Ba Sing Se," Zuko said, simply but firmly. He wasn't asking their opinion. It was a declaration.

"What do you mean we're going back?" Toph asked, slightly incredulous. "We just spent all that time getting away from it."

"It was foolish of us to run in the first place," Zuko explained, looking at everyone sitting around the camp in turn. "If we want to ensure our victory over the Fire Lord come summer's end, we must first reclaim that city."

"Zuko and I talked this over last night, and I agree," Aang said. "With just the six of us charging into the Fire Nation, even with the eclipse, chances of winning are slim at best. I don't want to let our one chance go to waste. We need military backup."

"And if we take back Ba Sing Se now, we will have stopped Azula's attack on the Earth Kingdom before she even begins," Zuko added.

Aang held up a finger with a huge grin on his face. "It will be like hitting two turtle ducks with one stone!"

Sokka rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he digested what the other two boys had just said. "You know, I hate to agree with this guy," he said as he slapped his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "But I agree with this guy."

Katara smiled brightly, excited by the idea. "So, what's the plan?"

Aang scratched his face with a finger. "Well…Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee disguised themselves as Kyoshi warriors to get in, right? We can probably use a similar tactic."

"You want us to dress up as Kyoshi warriors?" Sokka asked with a cocked brow. "I don't think Iroh would look too convincing."

The old firebender choked on his tea at this comment.

Aang smacked his forehead with his palm. "No, I'm saying we can infiltrate the Fire Nation troops that are heading for the city and sneak in that way."

"Once we get in, we just need to concentrate on taking down Azula and the Dai Li," Zuko finished.

Sokka rolled the ideas around in his head some more. "I see…I'm following ya…so we're going to pull a reverse coup on Azula, huh? Not bad, not bad…" He nodded his head approvingly. "So, how are we going to go about it?"

Aang and Zuko exchanged looks then both turned back to Sokka, saying in unison, "We're leaving those details to you."

The Water Tribe boy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "WHAT?!!"

Iroh burst out into a hearty laugh. "I have been told that you're the one who comes up with all the brilliant plans, Sokka. It would be an honor to see you in action."

Katara gave a teasing smile. "Oh, come on, idea guy. This is your forte."

"Yeah, Snoozles," Toph chimed in with a sly grin. "You gotta make yourself useful _sometime_. You know…earn your keep."

"I'm always useful!!" Sokka defended indignantly.

"Right, right." Toph waved a dismissive hand. "Just not as useful as the rest of us."

Sokka folded his arms and pouted. They were ganging up on him again.

"So, think you can handle it?" Toph asked with a widening grin.

Sokka jumped to his feet and narrowed his eyes. "Just start heading back. I'll have a flawless plan worked out before we get there." Letting out an exasperated breath, he stomped off, signaling the end of their meeting.

Katara turned to Aang and Zuko. "You two should probably get some sleep. You've been up all night, haven't you?"

With fatigue suddenly taking over, the two boys with dark circles under their eyes nodded and took her advice without complaint.

"We'll resume this afternoon," Zuko said to Aang as they walked away.

"Gotcha," the airbender replied with a yawn. "See you then."

After that brief exchange, Zuko hauled himself up into Appa's saddle while Aang made himself comfortable on Appa's tail. Both fell asleep within seconds despite the bright daylight.

"I wonder why they are so tired?" Iroh asked nobody in particular after watching the boys practically sleepwalk away.

"Zuko started teaching Aang firebending," Katara supplied happily.

The old man arched a surprising brow. "Is that so?"

"And apparently, he also started teaching Katara the art of kissing," Toph added nonchalantly.

Katara gasped indignantly as she whipped her head around to face the earthbender. "That's entirely untrue!!"

Toph only laughed uncontrollably at the waterbender's response.

Iroh's brows arched even higher as his eyes widened. "Is THAT so?" Then laughing once again, he reflected on his nephew's recent growth and progress. He couldn't be more proud. With renewed purpose, the young prince had finally awakened.

* * *

_He floated in the middle of the ocean, rising and falling to the rhythm of the waves. The storm clouds had dispersed, and the sun could be seen once more. After what seemed like an eternity of searching, he finally sighted land in the far, far distance. Without delay, he began to swim towards it…_

* * *

Perched high up on the bough of a tall tree, he remained silent as he kept his observant eyes on the Fire Nation camp below. Chewing thoughtfully on the straw in his mouth, he wondered what it was that they could be after in this area. 

He stood up and scanned the surrounding landscape to see what city, town, or mine might be nearby that would be of interest to the Fire Nation. However, before he found any such thing, the sight of a few familiar faces just up the road surprised him instead.

Leaping from tree to tree with practiced stealth, he began making his way over to warn them of what they were headed for.

* * *

Katara walked with a slight bounce in her steps and a smile she simply couldn't wipe off her face. It had been a while since she felt this good. Zuko was thinking more positive, Aang was finally learning firebending, and they had a plan of action in the making. Things were definitely starting to look up. 

Energized by her great mood, she was actually walking quite a few paces ahead of everyone else. She would have propelled even further ahead if not for the face that suddenly appeared right in front of her, covering her entire field of vision.

"Hey there, Katara. Miss me?"

Katara jumped back and gasped in surprise. Then when she finally took a better look and recognized who it was, tears of relief welled up in her eyes. Hanging upside down before her with his legs hooked around a tree branch was none other than the leader of the Freedom Fighters. "Jet!"

The youth jumped down as Katara threw her arms around him. He smiled and returned the embrace. "Well, I guess that's a yes."

Aang's eyes widened in pleasant surprise and ran over to greet the youth. "Jet!"

Sokka joined up as well, but everyone else remained where they were.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. He, too, remembered this person. How could he forget?

Iroh stroked his beard and spoke in a low, serious voice. "Fate is a funny thing indeed, isn't it, nephew?"

Beside them, Toph took note of their reactions. It was immediately apparent to her that both firebenders knew Jet…and not in a good way.

Katara pulled back to get a good look at Jet. "Back at Lake Laogai…we thought you… What happened?"

"I got lucky," Jet said, his voice more solemn. "Really lucky. Longshot and Smellerbee got me out of there, but truthfully…none of us expected me to survive. By chance, we crossed paths with a traveler who happened to be a doctor. He took me back to his village where there were a couple of doctors with _amazing_ skills. Fixed me up with some crazy acupuncture techniques and rare medicines, and here I am." He held out his arms to either side. "Good as new."

Aang and Zuko exchanged a glance at this revelation, both realizing it must be the same village where they were held captive by the crazy doctors and farmers.

Zuko sifted through his memories, recalling his previous encounter with Jet. The Earth Kingdom youth might have been obsessive when it came to anything Fire Nation related, but he was definitely a skilled fighter with a cunning mind. Watching him now as he conversed casually with the others, it would appear he had a good relationship with them, which was a bit surprising. But that didn't mean Jet wasn't dangerous. "Toph," he said, his eyes still on Jet. "What do you think of him?"

Toph smirked, understanding his question. "He can be trusted, but…he hates the Fire Nation's guts, so…"

"I'm counting on it," Zuko said as he took a step forward, his features neutral.

"Zuko…" Iroh called out to his nephew, worried about what he might do.

"I'll handle it," Zuko replied ambiguously as he approached the others with slow even steps, eventually catching Jet's eye.

Jet's brows knitted, recognizing Zuko immediately. "You!!" He lunged, but Katara held him back.

"Woah! What's going on!?" Katara asked, taken aback by the sudden violent reaction.

"Oh, let me formally introduce you two," Sokka said, seemingly unaware of the tension in the air. "Angry jerk number one," he said, gesturing to Zuko. "Meet angry jerk number two," and he gestured to Jet.

Both boys ignored him.

"Hello, Jet," Zuko said, keeping his features unreadable. "It's been a while." His statement surprised everyone.

Aang arched his brows. "You two know each other?"

Jet tried to get out of the waterbender's hold. "Katara, this guy's Fire Nation!" Looking further, he spotted Iroh. "So is that old man back there!"

Katara struggled to hold him back. "We know! It's all right!"

"What?!" Stunned by her response, that was all Jet managed to say.

"I need to learn firebending, and he's my firebending teacher!" Aang said in hopes to help calm him down.

Jet stopped struggling, though it might just have been because he was too shocked.

"Trust me," Aang added for good measure. "You can trust them."

Jet was confused, still trying to digest the concept of the Avatar working with firebenders when Zuko's voice broke into his thoughts.

"We're planning an attack on Ba Sing Se to regain its control from the Fire Nation. Interested?"

Jet studied Zuko as he gave his words some thought. He'd heard all about the coup the Dai Li helped the Fire Nation princess pull off, so he knew exactly what Zuko was talking about, but he just couldn't believe he was hearing this from a firebender. "You…a Fire Nation…is going to go against Fire Nation," he said with dripping sarcasm.

Zuko ignored the comment. "I'm sure this attack is much greater in scale compared to anything you may have done in the past. If you want a _real_ shot at the Fire Nation…here's your chance."

Jet contemplated for a moment. There was definitely truth in that. He would do anything for this chance. Having to work with two Fire Nation guys in order to do it was only a small price to pay. Besides, the Avatar was involved. Even if he didn't trust the firebenders, he knew the boy would not lie. A smirk found its way to his lips. "Well, you certainly do know what makes me tick. I'm always up for anything anti Fire Nation. But I have one condition." His expression darkened. "Long Feng is mine."

Zuko looked to Aang as if silently asking his opinion.

The young monk shrugged. "I've got no problems with that. We need all the help we can get."

Then both Zuko and Aang turned to the Water Tribe boy, calling to him in surround sound. "Sokka."

Sokka folded his arms and glared at both of them, knowing what they wanted. Then he threw his arms up into the air. "Fine, I'll work him into the plan. Geez! So demanding!"

With that settled, Toph and Iroh finally stepped forth and rejoined the group with Appa in tow. "Welcome back among the living, tough guy," Toph said in greeting.

"What were you doing out here all by yourself?" Katara asked.

"That's right!" Jet exclaimed as he remembered his original purpose. "I came to warn you there's a Fire Nation camp up ahead. Soldiers. Better take a detour."

"Actually…that's perfect," Zuko said as he looked to Sokka.

Sokka nodded in agreement. "We'll tail this group, but let's keep at a safe distance. Toph?"

The earthbender concentrated on the earth's vibrations to gage the location of said Fire Nation camp. "We _are_ getting kind of close." She pointed in a different direction. "Let's set up camp over there. There's a good spot a little ways away."

As the group started walking again, Jet mused about how he and Zuko had become comrades by chance, then sudden enemies, and now sudden comrades again…alongside the Avatar, no less. "Well, Li, it should be interesting working with you again."

Zuko smirked. "I'm sure. And actually, the name's Zuko." He walked on ahead, leaving Jet shocked and frozen in place for the umpteenth time that day.

Katara gave Zuko a teasing smile. "Li? Has that _always_ been your alias?"

"There's another I may have used once or twice."

"Oh, I know!" Aang perked up.

"Aang, I foresee five hundred repetitions of the basic set during your next practice session," the prince said casually.

"Sorry, Katara," the airbender said without missing a beat. "I don't know anything."

The waterbender twisted her lips. "All right, now I'm curious. Tell me!"

At this point, Toph launched herself onto Zuko's back and, like second nature, he held onto her. "Oh, I know, I know! It's Grumpster, right?"

The prince frowned. "No."

"What about…Sir Mopey?"

"No."

"Then it's gotta be Grouchason!"

Zuko grumbled. "Be quiet, _Ling_."

That only succeeded in making Toph laugh.

Then Katara joined in. "I think Pompous the First sounds about right. Maybe you should consider using that next time!"

Zuko's eye twitched, wondering how the conversation ended up going down this road.

Aang chuckled with a shake of his head. "I'm telling you, it would be easier if you just told them."

To that, the prince only responded with, "Five hundred, Aang. Five hundred."

Jet watched as the four of them walked away, the gears in his head still turning when Sokka waved a hand in front of his eyes. Jet threw an arm around Sokka's shoulder, pulling him closer. "So, let me get this straight," he started with furrowed brows. "The Fire Lord's son…is helping the Avatar in hopes of defeating the Fire Lord."

Sokka shrugged. "Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."

Jet rubbed his chin. "I see, I see… So, the Fire Prince might actually _kill_ the Fire Lord with his own hands…" He grinned as he slapped his hand on Sokka's shoulder. "I like the sound of that."

Sokka narrowed his eyes at the youth beside him. "You are one disturbing man."

"Hey, are those two…?"

Sokka raised a questioning brow, then followed Jet's line of sight to Zuko and Katara. "Yeah, sorry, but angry jerk number one pretty much took over and completely overshadowed any place you may have had in my sister's heart. Better luck next time, huh?"

Sokka's sarcasm was completely lost on Jet, as the Freedom Fighter was actually interested in knowing for a different reason. _I see…So, they trust him that much, huh?_ Then he turned his attention to Iroh. "If he's the prince, then you are…?"

Iroh gave a slight bow. "Retired general Iroh."

"Dragon of the West," Sokka whispered.

Jet shook his head with another smirk. "This just keeps getting better."

Iroh fell into step beside the two boys as they started walking again. "Please forgive our previous deceptions. Our circumstances made things…difficult."

Jet gave a casual wave. "Bygones, old man."

"Where are your companions, may I ask?"

"Well…seems all I ever do is give them trouble," the youth replied with regret in his voice. "I wasn't a very good leader. They'd be better off without me. I sort of left without saying goodbye."

"The fact that you're thinking about their wellbeing is admirable," Iroh tried to console as his thoughts went back to his nephew. Being a great leader was a difficult task, but it seemed Zuko was beginning to grow into one. Earlier, Iroh had expected Zuko would confront Jet, certainly not recruit. _Perhaps he is finally starting to use that brain of his._

* * *

A/N: Toph is Zuko's trust-o-meter. Haha! I never had any strong feelings for Jet either way. Didn't love him, but didn't particularly hate him either. But I guess he scored some sympathy points with me in the Lake Laogai episode. I heard there was some interview somewhere confirming that he is in fact dead. That would be too bad. Well, if he is dead, then at least he lives here. Many thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated! 


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Iroh observed as the sparring match between Zuko and Toph continued, mentally noting all the mistakes they were making for later discussion. The old firebender had suggested this training routine to them, as it would help prepare them for what they will be facing at Ba Sing Se in the near future. Both had agreed, claiming it would be a good way to pass the time while Aang and Katara were off practicing waterbending. Even though in some far reaches of Toph's mind she must have realized that she had minimal experience fighting firebenders, even though in some deep depths of Zuko's memory he must have remembered how quickly he had lost to the Dai Li agents the last time, both were too stubborn to admit that they actually required the training.

Taking a sip of his tea, Iroh smiled to himself as he recalled their disastrous matches in the beginning. Zuko would often forget that there were no way his flames, no matter how strong or hot, were going to stop the two-ton stone slabs hurtling his way. As a result, he would end up getting thrown painfully into the distance. Toph didn't have it any better. Since fire was more elusive compared to solid objects, it was more difficult for the blind girl to "see". She would often misjudge the speed and reach of Zuko's flames and end up coming out of the fights with her hairs and clothing singed at various places. Iroh couldn't help but laugh at the memory. The two worn, disheveled, and grumpy benders were a sight to behold.

Nowadays, it seemed they were starting to really get the hang of it.

"Tss! Ouch!" Toph jumped back, pulling her fist away from Zuko's fire whip. After shaking her hand a few times, she started frantically blowing on it to cool the burn.

"Oof!" Zuko dropped to his knees with his hands over his abdomen, trying to get his wind back from the attack Toph had launched the same time he threw his whip.

Iroh chuckled. _Well…almost._

* * *

"Why wouldn't you let me grab that sack of potatoes before we left?" Sokka grumbled. 

Jet sighed. "I told you. If we take any more, they might start to notice that things are going missing. Besides, _you're_ the one who said we should stick to just the necessary equipment."

Sokka pouted as he mumbled to himself. "The sack wasn't even that big."

"Not to mention, we almost got caught this time," Jet added. "Good thing we brought Momo with us to act as decoy. Otherwise we'd be goners by now."

At the mentioning of his name, Momo swooped down from the trees and landed on top of Jet's head, looking down at the boy.

Jet looked up at the lemur with a smirk. "Thanks for the help, buddy."

The trio was currently making their way through the forest, heading back to their camp after another self-invited visit to the Fire Nation camp. While the benders in their team spent their time honing their bending skills, Sokka and Jet spent theirs scheming about what supplies to "borrow" from the Fire Nation troops they had been tailing and how to go about doing it. With Jet's freedom fighting experience, he was already proving to be a great asset for this purpose.

They had already made quite a few runs by now. Since the troops were great in numbers and had plenty of supplies, Jet and Sokka had managed to remain unnoticed by taking only a few items at a time every couple of days or so. Nonetheless, Jet had to wonder how dimwitted those soldiers had to be to still not notice _something_ was amiss, especially considering how much of a particularly large and powerful item they had been accumulating over time: blasting jelly. Appa's saddle was already filled with barrels of it. Even now, the thing that Jet and Sokka were carrying between them was yet another barrel of said explosives.

"What are you going to do with all this blasting jelly anyway?" Jet asked. "I thought we were going to _sneak_ into the city. Setting off explosives sort of defies the whole sneaking in thing."

The Water Tribe boy all but grinned. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough."

Jet twisted his lips, not entirely satisfied with that answer. On top of that, he was really beginning to feel the strain on his arm and back muscles. "You know, this stuff is pretty darn heavy. So, tell me again _why_ we must set up camp _this_ ridiculously far away from the troops?"

At that moment, the pair stepped out of the forest and right into the crossfire between Zuko and Toph. Jet ducked just in time to avoid a stream of flames, which ended up singeing the end of Sokka's ponytail. When Jet came back up, he grabbed both of Sokka's shoulders and used him as a human shield to block the stray rocks generated by Toph's bending.

When the shower of tiny rocks finally stopped bouncing off of Sokka's head, he gave his reply with a deep frown. "_That's_ why."

"Oh, yeah," Jet replied casually. "The bending ruckus. How can I forget?" He gave his human shield a pat on the shoulder and tried not to laugh at his current dust covered and slightly burnt condition.

"Hey, watch where you throw that fire!" Sokka vented. "Do you want to blow us all to Spirit World?!" They were transporting blasting jelly after all.

Before Zuko could reply, Toph spoke the words on his mind. "Can't blame others when you're the one stupid enough to walk right into the middle of it."

"She got you there," Jet commented.

Sokka turned and glared at the boy beside him. "That applies to you, too, you know."

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one stupid enough to invite the insult by screaming about it," Jet said, grinning with that easygoing attitude of his.

Sokka growled under his breath, grumbling incoherently to himself about always being the target for abuse.

From where he was sitting, Iroh watched as Toph and Zuko's training session came to a close while Sokka and Jet proceeded to add their newly acquired barrel to the growing pile of loot in Appa's saddle. It looked like all the commotion was beginning to wind down, but the old man knew better. He took another sip of his tea and waited for the encore to begin.

Zuko plopped himself onto the ground to get some much-needed rest. After that extended sparring match, he was exhausted. However, before he could so much as take a breath, a pair of broadswords…courtesy of the Fire Nation troops…was dropped to the ground before him with a clank.

The prince sighed inwardly. _Not again…_ He turned his eyes up to meet the smirking face of the tall boy standing before him. "No."

"Come on," Jet said. "Don't tell me you're already tired."

Zuko simply continued to glare.

"Scared?" Jet's smirk turned into a grin. "Well, I guess you _do_ look a bit worn out. Fine, fine. Since I'm such a nice guy, how about if I give you a handicap? Would that make you feel better? I'll use only one of my hook swo—"

Before Jet could finish, he had to pull out his twin hook swords to block the sudden attack from the blades of a fired-up prince. Seeing the annoyance in Zuko's eyes, Jet couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. "That's the spirit, princey." He pushed the swords away then jumped back a step.

"Shut up and fight so I can get this over with," Zuko said as the two circled each other.

"If you're in such a hurry, then why don't you firebend this time?" Jet taunted in a casual tone, grinning just to irk his opponent.

Zuko smirked. "Don't need it to take care of you."

Jet's expression fell, just a little. "We'll see about that."

The furious tempo of metal against metal filled the air as the match between the two teens continued.

Toph went and took a seat next to Iroh, stretching out her tired feet. "They're at it again."

Sokka joined in, sitting with his legs crossed on the other side of the old man, propping his chin up with an elbow on his knee. "That Jet just doesn't give up."

Iroh chuckled as he thought back through the various stages of Jet and Zuko's relationship since they started traveling together. In the beginning, they were guarded, constantly watching each other's every move like a hawk. However, with the rest of the group serving as a buffer, things remained peaceful.

That lasted all of two days at which point Jet's paranoia kicked in. He began interrogating the prince in the form of casual roundabout questioning, trying to somehow prove that Zuko was in fact working under some secret agenda of his own. While Jet was unsuccessful in uncovering any such agenda, he did manage to light Zuko's extremely short fuse. Iroh had to give his nephew credit though. The boy held his temper for three whole days before finally exploding.

Ever since, the two of them had been fighting on a daily basis. Jet would provoke, and Zuko would predictably and foolishly take the bait. Although Jet delighted in his ability to vex and manipulate Zuko, somehow he was always the one disappointed in the end. To this day, the Freedom Fighter had yet to win a single match. Every time, he would lose by just a hair, making the loss that much more frustrating. Dissatisfied, he would renew his challenge the following day and the cycle would repeat itself.

What came as a pleasant surprise, however, was the fact that the tension between them had actually dissipated over time rather than increased. Perhaps the fighting was good therapy after all? But if Iroh were a betting man, he would bet that Katara might have something to do with it.

The old firebender came out of his reverie just as the match came to a close. Jet was down on one knee with the tip of a broadsword pointing at his throat. One of his hook swords was flung out of his reach while the other was pinned firmly to the ground under Zuko's foot.

Panting with beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face, Jet glared up at Zuko. Then taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, his lips curled up into a smirk. "Well, there's always tomorrow."

Zuko slumped his shoulders and hung his head with a sigh. "Just kill me now."

* * *

After dinner that night, everyone gathered for another meeting. 

When Sokka was sure he had everyone's attention, he began to explain his plan. "All right. This operation is going to be a bit different. Instead of sticking together, we're going to divide and conquer. And instead of _just_ taking Azula down…" his eyes scanned across the group, pausing here for effect, "...we're going to claim all her resources while we're at it. But in order for the plan to work, _everyone_ has to succeed. So, it's high risk." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Right now, we're about five days away from Ba Sing Se. That will give you some time after this to think it over. If something seems impossible, you _have_ to let me know or else the whole thing will fail. Got it?"

Everyone looked around the group silently, letting the weight of those words sink in.

Finally, Jet spoke up. "Just spill it already, would you?"

Sokka nodded and unrolled the map he drew up of the city layered with walls, laying it out in the center of their circle. "Lights, please."

Aang, Zuko, and Iroh each held up a palm as a flame came to life in their hands, lighting up the map on the ground.

"All right, then. These are the city walls, and this here is the palace," Sokka continued, pointing to various parts of the map as he spoke.

Everyone listened intently to the plan, trying to digest all the information. In fact, they were so focused on the details that it seemed nobody noticed the silently bristling earthbender.

* * *

The next morning, Jet set off on a little mission of his own while the rest of the group continued to trail behind the Fire Nation troops towards Ba Sing Se. When the day's travels came to an end, Toph took the opportunity to go do some earthbending practice on her own. In other words, she went off to brood, earthbending style. 

She raised another pillar out of the earth and smashed a boulder into it, letting both crumble to pieces. For some reason, she had thought that by imagining the pillars were Sokka and throwing things at them, it would help let off some steam. In the end, it was no help at all. Then again, it really wasn't Sokka she was frustrated with.

"Are you done throwing rocks?" Zuko asked as he approached her. "I've been looking for you."

"What do you want, Sparky?" she replied, not sounding the most pleasant.

"I was just wondering if you can tell how many cracks there are in the ground."

"Huh?" The earthbender was caught completely off guard by the seemingly pointless question.

"Well, can you?" he persisted.

She huffed, somewhat annoyed. "Three in this clearing." She pointed them out to the prince.

Zuko looked around to confirm. She was right. "I see. That settles it then."

"Settles what?" Toph asked, clearly baffled.

Zuko picked up a stick then sat down and began scratching into the earth.

"What the heck are you doing?" Toph asked as she squatted down beside him.

"Redrawing Sokka's crummy map."

She gasped in surprise. "How did you…?"

Zuko looked at her and smirked. "Bet it's annoying to see just half the picture."

"I didn't need to see it," she insisted a little too eagerly before turning her head away from him. "I understood the plan just fine."

He shook his head. "Stubborn as always." That earned him a solid punch on his shoulder. When he was finished with the drawing, he asked, "Can you see it?"

Toph tapped her knuckles on the ground repeatedly, the vibrations illuminating the picture for her. "Yes, but…I don't get it."

Zuko cocked a brow, not sure what she meant by that. "These are the city walls," he said as he retraced the circles on the ground. "This is the palace."

"That's not a palace," Toph retorted. "A palace is like…this," she said as she waved her arms around to trace out something like a box in the air.

Then it hit Zuko where the breakdown was. Through earthbending, Toph saw things in three dimensions. She didn't understand the abstract two-dimensional representations of reality. Not sure how to overcome this, he did the only thing he could think of. He picked up the stick and started drawing various random objects. "This is a fish. This is a flower. This is Uncle Iroh's teapot." And so on, and so forth.

Eventually, Toph's face lit up, growing excited as she began to grasp the idea.

Zuko drew a circle in the dirt, then added two dots in it for eyes and a wide grinning mouth. "This is a face." He added an arrow on the head. "This is Aang's face."

Toph traced the arrow with her finger. "Is this…his tattoo?" She couldn't begin to describe what she was feeling at that moment. It was her first experience with this sort of art. Even though in certain ways she was able to see better than those with sight, artwork on paper was one of the things she was never able to see, no matter how great a bender she was. The arrow on Aang's head was something she kept hearing about but never quite understood.

She smiled and roughly swiped the back of her hands over her eyes before her unshed tears could fall. "Let me try!" She grabbed the stick from Zuko. "I'll draw you!" She frowned in concentration as she scribbled into the dirt. "There. How's that?"

Zuko looked at the doodle on the ground then looked back up at the girl, deadpan. "You stink. That looks nothing like me."

"What?! That looks _exactly_ like you!"

"If someone threw up on me, maybe."

"I can help with that," came Aang's voice.

Zuko turned to find Aang and Katara looking over their shoulders from behind. While Katara was clearly intrigued by the random doodling all over the place, Aang was looming over Zuko with a finger in his mouth about to gag himself.

"_Don't_ even think about it!" Zuko warned with a death glare, which only set the rest of them into a laughing fit.

At the edge of the clearing, Sokka and Iroh watched as four of the world's greatest benders and would-be saviors amused themselves by huddling around and drawing in the dirt.

Sokka sighed. "I hate to say it, but…he's not so bad."

"Joining up with your group has done him much good," Iroh replied. "He needs them, and they need him. With the will of the fire and the strength of a rock, the nurturing qualities of water and the peaceful nature of the air, they come together to form a balanced whole." The old man stroked his beard with a smile. "Together, I truly believe they have the power to shape the future of this world."

The Water Tribe boy was about to nod in agreement when he suddenly turned to the old firebender with an indignant pout. "Hey! What about me?!"

"Well, uh…" Iroh looked away nervously as he faked a cough into his fist.

Just then, Jet showed up. "Hey."

Sokka turned around to greet the youth. "That was fast. Did you get it?"

Iroh breathed a quiet sigh of relief for getting off the hook.

Jet smirked. "Of course." He tossed two scrolls and a little box to Sokka.

Sokka studied the objects in his hands. "Perfect. Now let's just hope this works."

* * *

Katara played with her fingers nervously, pacing back and forth as they waited for Sokka, Iroh, and Appa to return from their late night aerial scout. After all this time, they had finally returned to the great city of Ba Sing Se. It was so close, the city walls were already visible from the hill they were standing on. 

Leaning up against a tree with folded arms, Zuko followed Katara's movements with his eyes. He was beginning to get dizzy just from watching her.

Toph breathed a sigh of agitation. "Would you quit being so restless? You're giving me a headache."

"Don't worry, Katara," Aang added. "They'll be fine."

"Yeah, you're right." The waterbender stopped and slumped her shoulders with a sigh. "But I can't help it!" Her pacing resumed.

"Looks like the wait's over," Jet said as he jumped down from the trees and spit out the straw in his mouth. "They're back."

Just then, a fluffy black monster swooped down and landed in their midst. As a precaution from being spotted in the night sky, they had rubbed soot all over Appa's body from head to tail. Needless to say, he was none too happy about it. As soon as his passengers got off, the bison shook his body vigorously, creating a huge soot cloud in the process, causing everyone to nearly hack up a lung.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Aang said as he gave his best friend an apologetic hug. "I promise we'll wash it all off as soon as this is over."

"So, what did you find?" Zuko asked.

"It's pretty much as we thought," Sokka replied. "The Fire Nation troops are camped just outside the inner city walls, grouped together on the west side of the city. We were a bit far to see clearly, but it looks like they have quite a few tanks…I'd say at least fifty…and enough kimodo rhinos to start a major stampede. But there aren't any war balloon-looking things though, so that's good news."

"There are five mid-sized warships that have come through Chameleon Bay," Iroh supplied. "The artillery have been stored below deck, so we were unable to confirm exactly what they are. Judging by the model of the ships, they are most likely catapults. Based on the size of the warships, they should only be big enough to hold one catapult per ship."

"So, tell me honestly, guys," Sokka said in his most serious voice. "Is this doable?"

Silence hung in the air for a drawn out moment.

Toph was the first to speak up, sounding confidant as ever. "Kids' stuff. Don't sweat about it."

Jet folded his arms with a smirk. "What she said."

Zuko and Aang exchanged a glance and merely nodded.

Katara looked to Iroh, who gave her a reassuring smile, and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Let's do this."

Sokka nodded. "Our fellow traveling companions will reach the city tomorrow," he said, referring to the Fire Nation troops. "That means we split up tonight."

* * *

A half an hour later, they were ready to go. 

All of the blasting jelly had been reloaded back into Appa's saddle after the aerial scout. Katara took the reins while Iroh sat beside her.

"This is my first time sitting at the head," the jolly old firebender said to nobody in particular as he lightly ruffled Appa's soot-covered fur. "I can hardly wait!"

Toph had changed into her common class Earth Kingdom girl disguise. With Katara's help, her usually unkempt mess of hair had been combed and transformed into a pair of braids running down either sides of her face.

Zuko, Jet, and Sokka had put on their borrowed Fire Nation armor.

"I can't believe I'm wearing this," Jet commented with mild disgust. "I'll have to bathe at least ten times under the world's largest waterfall when this is over." He glanced over at Zuko. "No offense." Then he thought for a moment. "Actually, I take that back. I did mean to offend a little," he amended with a slight grin.

Zuko grumbled, trying his best to ignore the Freedom Fighter.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked. "How come he doesn't have a disguise?"

"Who, me?" Aang pointed to himself with raised brows. "I'm going as blasting jelly," he said as he jumped inside an empty barrel with a grin. "See?"

Zuko kicked the side of the barrel. "Get in when we get there," he said in monotone. "Nobody wants to carry you."

"Oh." Aang shrugged with a sheepish smile as he climbed back out.

"If we're lucky, we might be able to make our move as early as tomorrow night," Sokka said, getting everyone's attention. "Toph. Katara. Make sure you're ready by then, but remember to wait for the signal."

Both girls nodded.

"All right, then. Let's go," Sokka said, wrapping up the discussion.

After sharing a round of well wishes, the group split up accordingly. The boys went in the direction of the Fire Nation camp. Katara and Iroh took to the sky, heading towards Chameleon Bay. Toph, getting a head start, began making her way to the city of Ba Sing Se.

* * *

A/N: I tend to wonder a lot about Toph's sight. Would she be able to see fire? If not, how would she handle fighting a firebender? Would she be able to comprehend doodles in the dirt? Things like that. Haha! 

Sorry it took forever and a day to get this chapter up. I had to stop and think through the rest of the story a bit more before I could keep writing. There actually aren't that many chapters left, but my apologies ahead of time if the following chapters should take a while. They need some figuring out. Heh… Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Being the top-notch earthbending genius that she was, sneaking into the city was a simple task for Toph. All she had to do was dig a few tunnels that were deep and long enough, and she was able to slip in completely unnoticed. The layers of fortified walls were practically meaningless to her. By the time she made it into the upper ring, it was still just early in the morning. After getting something to eat, she found herself a nice spot under a nice tree in a nice park where she took a nice long nap as she waited for nightfall. Yes, sneaking into the city was a simple task indeed.

When night finally came, Toph approached the palace. The streets were quiet, and only two Earth Kingdom guards stood at the gates. About ten feet in front of the gates, she stopped, cracked her knuckles, and got to work. _All right, Toph, you can do this. Just remember your ruse when you were back home and use your toned-way-down bending._

A string of small rocks rose up into the air as she slid her foot across the ground. At her command, the rocks sped forward and crashed into the gates with a series of thuds.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" one of the guards exclaimed with a mixture of anger and bewilderment in his voice.

Toph hid her grin as she sent another wave of rocks at the palace walls. "Stupid Fire Nation jerks!! Get the heck out of our city!"

The guards looked at each other with wide eyes, suddenly fearful for the apparently ignorant and foolish child before them.

"Shh!!" The other guard hissed frantically as he placed a finger to his lips. "Little girl, do you want to die?!" A series of slightly bigger rocks flew by him in response.

"We don't need your snot nosed princess bossing us around! Even my pet chicken pig can do a better job!"

The blood was beginning to drain out of the guards' faces as more rocks came hurtling at the palace walls. "For the love of…!! Just go home!" said the first guard in a strained whisper as his arms waved in a shooing motion. "Please!!"

"No! I'm not going anywhere until those firebending losers start packing!" She tossed a few more rocks, careful not to show her true strength. "Hey! You hear me?! Your rhinos are stinking up the place! Your fire's changing the climate! Your soot's screwing up the air quality! Get lost!"

"Would you two arrest her already?" came a calmly annoyed voice from above. "She's bothering me."

The guards looked up and panicked when they saw who was standing at the top of the wall. "La…Lady Mai! But…she's just a child."

"Do I look like I care?" Mai replied apathetically.

The guards dared say no more. With a bow of acknowledgement, one of the guards quickly took hold of Toph and led her away.

Mai looked out over the city as she drifted into thought. Though the girl was in a light disguise, Mai immediately recognized her as the Avatar's earthbender. And if she was here, then _he_ must also be here as well.

"Good work, Mai."

Mai turned her head to find Azula stepping forth to stand beside her.

"It would seem the Avatar has come back to pay us another visit. Most likely with Zuzu in tow." The princess smirked. "Inform Ty Lee. I'll send for Long Feng. We must prepare for our honored guests."

Mai sighed. "Finally. Something to do."

* * *

A Fire Nation supplies wagon drawn by a kimodo rhino approached the gates to the upper ring. Two soldiers sat at the front of the wagon while two more soldiers trailed behind it on foot. As the driver pulled his reins to stop the wagon, his partner handed a scroll to one of the guards at the gate. 

After reading the scroll, the guard handed it back to the soldier and proceeded with a routine check of the wagon, looking into as well as under the carriage. "It's clear."

The gates opened, and the wagon went through.

"Sure is quiet around here. It's not even that late," commented the soldier with the scroll in his hand as he looked around. Aside from them, the streets were practically deserted. "Well, guess it's only natural. We _are_ occupying this place after all."

"First time in the city?" the driver asked.

"Yep. Just got here today, in fact." He unrolled the scroll in his hand and gave it a once over. "So, this one scroll can get us clear into the palace, huh? I thought there'd be a separate one for each gate we have to pass through."

The driver all but laughed at the naiveté in those words. "You must be a rookie, kid. Who has time to write out four separate scrolls for every single delivery run?"

"Ah, yes. That's true. Thanks for the information." Without warning, he threw a straight punch at the driver's head and knocked him out cold despite the protective helmet he was wearing. Before the man could fall off the side of the wagon, he pulled him back, tossed him into the carriage, then jumped in after him.

One of the soldiers trailing behind the wagon quickly ran up to the front and took the driver's place at the reins while the other one leaped into the carriage from the back to help bind and gag the driver.

The new driver removed his metal facemask, revealing Sokka's features. "You could have given us some more warning before you decked the guy, Jet. The rhino nearly swerved off?!"

Jet removed his facemask and threw it to the side in annoyance. "What am I supposed to do? Say 'Thanks for the info and, oh, by the way, I'm going to punch you in the face after I count to three'?"

When they finished tying up the unconscious man, Zuko removed his mask as well. "Just drop it before your bickering gets us into trouble," he stated as calmly as possible.

"Fine," Jet sighed as he handed the scroll over to Zuko. "Here. It's all yours." Then he promptly peeled off his Fire Nation armor. Underneath, he was clad in black from neck to toe, ready for his next task. Digging behind the piles of supplies in the carriage, he found his hook swords and strapped them to his back.

After a while, the wagon came to a stop in a side alley. "We're close," Sokka whispered over his shoulder.

Jet gave a nod in response and jumped out the back of the carriage, hauling the unconscious soldier with him. "I'll dump him off somewhere."

"Don't blow it," Zuko said in his most deadpan voice.

Jet smirked. "You better not screw up either, princey. I'll catch up with you guys later." With that said, he disappeared into the shadows.

Zuko joined Sokka at the front of the wagon and both boys put their facemasks back on before turning the wagon onto the main street.

"I can't believe we were actually able to get in this soon," Sokka commented. According to Iroh, in a wartime occupation situation such as this, it was common practice to have supply runs into as well as out of the city from time to time. Their strategy was to stick with the troops and sneak into the palace with the next supply run. However, although the possibility was there, they never really expected that their chance would come so quickly. "Let's hope Toph has already made her move. See any signs?"

The royal palace was just up ahead, and Toph was supposed to leave them some indication if she had already come through. As both boys scanned the area, unsure as to what they were looking for, they regretted not having decided beforehand what that sign should be. However, it didn't take long for Sokka to spot the sign. When he did, he blanched. If it wasn't for the clunky armor and helmet he was wearing, he would have slapped his palm to his forehead. "No…she did NOT do that…"

"Where?" Zuko asked, trying to figure out what could have been so bad.

"Above the gates."

When Zuko looked, he had to suppress the unexpected laugh that nearly escaped his lips. On the stone wall above this grand entry to the royal palace of the most powerful city in the Earth Kingdom were now many small rocks arranged into the shape of a ten foot smiley face.

"She might as well just write out 'Toph was here'," Sokka said, rolling his eyes with a shake of his head.

"At least she's here," Zuko replied, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. "Let's go."

They approached the palace gates and, after repeating the same procedures as at all the previous gates, they passed through. Once in, another pair of guards led them to the storage house behind the palace. It was a separate building about the size of a large stable with a pair of doors wide enough to let the wagon in. The guards kept watch over them as they unloaded their supplies.

"U-oh. This isn't good," Sokka exclaimed from inside the storage house. "Hey, you guys better come take a look at this! Looks like some blasting jelly leaked out of one of the barrels. It's getting everywhere!"

The two guards left their posts at the doorway to see what the problem was. However, before they even made their way to Sokka, Zuko sneaked up behind them and knocked them both out with a blow to the neck. After giving them the same bind and gag treatment, the boys hauled them off and hid them amongst the supplies in the far back of the storage house.

After that, Zuko jumped back into the carriage and tapped on one of the barrels a few times with his knuckles. The lid opened, and Aang poked his head out with Momo perched on his shoulder. The young monk took a deep breath then exhaled with a sigh of relief as he draped his arms over the side of the barrel. "Ah…fresh air…"

"Toph's in," Zuko informed the boy as he began removing his armor. When he was done, he rummaged through the things in the carriage until he found his broadswords as well as Sokka's weapons.

"Great! Then what are we waiting for?" Aang exclaimed as he got out of the barrel and jumped off the carriage.

Zuko followed suit and, upon seeing that Sokka had already hid his shed armor somewhere and was waiting for them, he tossed the Water Tribe boy his weapons.

As soon as he got outside, Aang pulled out his bison whistle and blew on it with all his might. _That should do it._

Then with as much stealth as possible, the three of them slipped into the palace through the servants' quarters. It was the only entrance into the palace that, one, did not have guards posted at the doors, two, did not require scaling the palace walls, and three, did not involve jumping into the sewers. All things considered, they all agreed it was the best route to take.

After sneaking past a few servants and finally making their way up into the main halls, Aang put his hand into his pocket and retrieved a handful of small red berries. Holding them out to Momo, who grabbed the berries greedily and began feeding on them, the boy whispered, "There's more in that direction." He pointed down the hall. "Go find them. But be careful, all right?" He pet the lemur on the head.

Momo trilled softly as though understanding the situation. Then spreading his wings, he flew down the hallway.

Turning around, the boys tiptoed away in the opposite direction.

* * *

Katara stood at the edge of the cliff, concealed behind the foliage around her, as she kept her eyes on the Fire Nation warships in the river about thirty feet below. Though outwardly calm, her mind was racing as she continually went through her mental checklist of all the tasks she had already accomplished as well as all the things she still needed to do in order to complete her mission. As she did so, her brother's words rang through her head: 

_"If warships did come through Chameleon Bay, they should be anchored pretty close to Ba Sing Se. But half way down the river there's a bottleneck where it's only wide enough for a single ship to pass through at a time, and THAT is exactly where you are going to trap them. The river runs through a forest along the side of a cliff for the most part. You can't ask for a more perfect natural setting."_

It was true. The surroundings did give them the advantage they needed. But still, to capture five warships with no more than a girl, an old man, and a flying bison…only Sokka could come up with something like that. Katara couldn't help but smile at that thought…even if it did cost her quite a few sleepless nights trying to come up with new bending techniques just for this purpose.

At this point, Appa, who had been resting beside her, suddenly perked up and got to his feet. He turned his head towards the city, then turned back to give Katara a light nudge with his head.

Katara immediately understood what that meant and turned to Iroh who was standing not too far away on her other side. "Aang gave the signal."

"Much earlier than anticipated," the old man responded, sounding somewhat surprised. "Things must be going smoothly."

Katara gave Appa a soothing pet on the head, as said bison appeared anxious to respond to his master's call. "It's all right, Appa. We'll go meet up with Aang as soon as we're done here."

"Well, then. Shall we get started?" Iroh inquired.

The waterbender nodded as she turned to once again face the river. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to relax herself. Holding her arms out to either side with her palms facing down, she began reaching out to the water below, feeling its presence and aligning herself with it. After a short while, she turned her palms up, slowly raising her arms up higher. As she did so, a layer of mist lifted off the river's surface and into the air, decreasing visibility around the ships.

When the stage was set, they went over to the three barrels of blasting jelly that they had lined up at the edge of the cliff.

Katara turned to Appa with a small grin. "Remember the 'whack the barrel' game we've been playing the past couple of days?"

The bison nodded, excited just by hearing the name of the game. It was, after all, his newest favorite pastime.

"Well, we're going to play that now. Ready?" she asked as she moved back to make space.

Appa got into position.

Iroh stepped back and lit the fuse on the first barrel by shooting a small stream of flames from his fingers.

"Go!" Katara exclaimed.

At that prompt, Appa whacked the barrel off the cliff with his tail, sending it into an upward arc. As soon as the barrel hit the river, it exploded, sending a powerful gush of water high up into the air. Though the blast didn't actually hit any of the ships, the sound and the commotion caused by the waves were enough to alert those aboard that something was going on.

The captain of the ship closest to the blast rushed up onto deck as large drops of water rained down on him. "Report!"

"Captain, sir!" exclaimed one of the crewmembers on deck. "It seems there was some sort of explosion in the water."

The captain frowned. "Are we under attack?" He scanned the surroundings to see if there were any Earth Kingdom rebels or some other enemies in the area. Well…he tried anyway. "Where in the world did this fog come from?!" he said in frustration.

A second blast hit the water, much closer to the ships this time, causing them to rock even more.

"What should we do, Captain?!" another soldier asked, slightly frantic.

The captain considered his options for a brief moment before issuing his orders. "Retreat down river for now. Inform the other ships. Ready the catapults."

"Yes, sir!" his crew responded, just as a third explosion rung through the air.

Up on the cliff, Iroh and Katara watched as the ships began to move. "So far so good," Iroh commented.

Katara nodded in agreement. "I better get down there."

"Be careful."

"I will."

As soon as Katara disappeared, Iroh turned his attention to Appa. "Come, my friend. We've got more barrels to whack." The old firebender chuckled lightly at that unconventional battle tactic as he climbed onto Appa's head. Earlier that day, they had placed barrels of blasting jelly at various points along the length of the cliff between their current location and the river's bottleneck. If they could keep up with the attacks, the ships should keep going where they want them to go. Taking to the air, flying just above the trees, Iroh and Appa hurried to the next "barrel-whacking point" before the ships could beat them to it.

* * *

He hurried over to the window as soon as the messenger hawk landed on the sill. As he detached the parchment from the bird, he wondered what the message could be, though he had a pretty good idea. 

While most of his men were stationed outside the inner city walls, he and a small team had been stationed inside the city in case of an emergency. As he unrolled the parchment, he had a strong feeling that this was going to be it. For weeks now, they had been cooped up in an inn, disguised as regular citizens. Quite frankly, his men were starting to get pretty restless.

After reading over the message, he opened the door to the adjoining room where his team had gathered, lounging about and simply waiting.

One of the men sitting at the table lazily rolled his head over to look at him. Upon seeing the parchment he held in his hand, the man said, "_Please_ tell us that there's _something_ to do, Lieutenant Jee."

Despite Jee's usual seriousness, he gave a slight grin at the young man's impatience. "You're in luck. The royal palace has been infiltrated. We move out now."

* * *

Staring down the dimly lit corridor, Momo scratched his head as he contemplated whether or not he should continue. Ever since he went in the direction Aang had pointed him in, Momo had found around twenty or so red berries just lying about along the hallways…some of which had been stepped on, much to his disappointment. But even if none had been squashed beyond saving, twenty was hardly enough to satisfy his appetite, especially since those were one of his favorite berries. And even though he couldn't see them, his sense of smell told him that there were definitely more berries waiting for him at the end of that corridor. All he had to do was get past those two humans who stood like statues half way down as well as the wall of bars right behind them. 

With his mind made up, the lemur spread his wings and took off down the corridor, zooming past the pair of guards and slipping through the bars with ease. After picking up a berry along the way, he flew the rest of the way down the corridor and turned the corner.

One of the guards turned his head to look back behind him. "Hey, did something…white just fly by?"

His partner raised a questioning brow at him before turning to follow his line of sight. "You mean like a bird?"

"No…it was more…fuzzy than feathery," guard number one said, frowning with a bit of self-doubt.

Guard number two's eyes doubled in size. "It wasn't the Spirit of the Flying White Monkey, was it?" he asked, slightly fearful.

"Flying what?"

"You don't know about the Spirit of the Flying White Monkey?!" guard number two asked in disbelief. "People say it's the messenger of death from Spirit World! If you see it, then it means your time has come. After you pass on, it acts as your guide to Spirit World."

Guard number one broke out in cold sweat. "You know…I…don't think I saw anything. Yeah…"

* * *

Toph sat on the floor of her metal prison cell with her back leaned up against the wall, bored out of her mind. With an elbow propped up on her knee, holding her face in one hand, she continually tapped on the cold hard surface of the floor with the fingers of her other hand in order to get a better "view" of her surroundings. Not that she hadn't already seen enough of it by now, but there really wasn't anything better to do. 

That day when Zuko drew the palace map for her, he had also pointed out to her where the Earth Kingdom generals were being held. From what Toph could make out, it would seem the generals had not been relocated since the time when Zuko was still in Ba Sing Se. She could detect vibrations coming from the cells Zuko said they should be in. Whether they were generals or not, _somebody_ was there. However, it would be pretty pointless if they turned out not to be the generals since the whole reason she was there in the first place was to bust them out.

Iroh had explained to them that the reason the Earth Kingdom soldiers were not resisting was most likely because the generals had all been captured:

_"Without their leaders there to provide the proper strategies, they could not effectively function as an army. Individual efforts of rebellion would be futile and likely to simply cause chaos in the city. Not to mention, the Earth King is missing, and the Dai Li had sided with the Fire Nation. Fearful of making the wrong move, the troops have elected to remain passive. However, free the generals, and the troops should prove to be helpful."_

Just then, Toph heard a scratching sound at the door and grinned when she realized the visitor she had been expecting had finally arrived.

Momo squeezed through the bars in the small window in the door and landed on the floor. Jumping up onto Toph's lap, he made a trilling sound in greeting.

Toph laughed. "Hey there, Momo. Bet you're looking for these, huh?" She put her hand into her pocket and retrieved a handful of red berries.

The lemur jumped in excitement then reached out and began to munch on his prize. When he was finished, he leaped up onto Toph's shoulder.

The earthbender got to her feet. "Well, if the boys are in, then that means it's time for me to get out." After making sure that the coast was clear, she inserted her fingers through the metal door and simply ripped off the part of the door that had the lock on it. Tossing it behind her, she opened the door and walked out.

When she made it to the first cell where she _hoped_ to find a general, she ripped out the lock and kicked open the door.

The man inside looked at her with shocked wide eyes. "T…Toph?"

A grin spread across Toph's face. "General How. Looks like I came to the right place after all."

* * *

Toph strode down the corridor with the Council of Five now trailing behind her. "So basically, the Avatar's team has the big guys covered, but we need you to…you know…provide backup and crowd control." 

The generals exchanged glances, unable to believe that they were now taking orders from a child. The task of crowd control didn't sound all too appealing either.

"Where is the Earth King?" asked General Sung. "Is he safe?"

"Not to worry. He's currently under the protection of the Northern Water Tribe. So is his bear." Toph added the last bit with a roll of her eyes. "In any case, as soon as we get out, I need one of you to gather your troops and head down to the river as quickly as possible to give Katara backup. The rest of you will come with me."

When they finally reached the jail bars that blocked their passage out of the prison section, Toph folded her arms and spoke to the two guards on the other side. "You have two options. One: you unlock this door and let us out quietly, and nobody will know you did it. Two: I tear this thing apart, and the next Dai Li that walks by will have your head. Either way, we're getting out. And no, I'm not kidding about tearing this thing apart." Just to illustrate, she tugged on one of the bars.

The guards simply stared with their jaws hanging at the little girl with the big talk who had just bent a steel bar as though it were made of tofu.

Then from behind Toph, General How spoke in a commanding voice. "Unlock this door, soldier. We're taking back the city tonight."

It wasn't until then that the guards finally took notice of the Council of Five. "Y…yes, general!" They quickly opened the door and let them out.

As the guards watched them walk away, guard number one caught sight of Momo perched upon Toph's shoulder and pointed at the lemur, cold sweat washing over him once more. When Momo turned around and blinked at him, revealing his wing as he raised his arm to scratch his head, the guard began to hyperventilate and whispered, "It's…it's…the Flying White Monkey…" His eyes rolled back as he fainted, leaving his partner to wonder what had happened to him.

* * *

Even though it had been hours since he last moved from his spot and he was feeling this distinct burning sensation in his lower back, Wu Tian stubbornly insisted on keeping his most upright posture as he stood watch. Ever since he joined the Dai Li, just shortly before the Fire Nation princess had taken over, this was the first time he had been given the privilege of guarding the entry to Long Feng's study. He definitely wanted to make a good impression, especially since the man himself was currently inside said study. If Wu Tian performed well, he might even get a promotion. That thought alone was enough to make him put up with the backbreaking pain. 

However, backaches aside, he was suddenly beginning to feel extremely drowsy, and he couldn't figure out why. _I knew guard duty's nothing short of boring, but this is ridiculous. And where's that white smoke coming from?!_

Wu Tian turned to his partner to inquire about the mysterious smoke and was shocked to find that the other man had already passed out. Unable to fight the drowsiness any longer, Wu Tian collapsed onto the floor as well. Before his eyes closed, he could see a figure in black walking towards him. The bottom half of his face was masked behind a black cloth, and he held a pair of long hooks in his hands. The last thought running through Wu Tian's mind before he lost consciousness was that he probably wouldn't be getting that promotion anytime soon.

Jet nudged the fallen guards with his foot to make sure that they were indeed unconscious. Then he took another smoke bomb out of his pocket and just looked at it in wonder. He never thought that breaking into Long Feng's estate could be this easy. The smoke bombs, officially named the "Spineless Wimp" by Toph, were only about the size of a large grape. Yet, they were extremely potent and worked quickly. Apparently, Sokka developed them using a powerful sleeping powder they'd picked up somewhere along the way. However, why Toph was so adamant about calling it the Spineless Wimp, Jet would probably never be able to figure that out.

He turned his attention now to the closed doors of the study, knowing that Long Feng was on the other side. He could simply use the smoke bomb on him, put him out and call it good. Jet looked at the tiny object in his hand again and smirked as he closed his hand around it. _But then…where would be the satisfaction in that?_

* * *

After reading the urgent message from Azula, Long Feng placed the scroll onto his desk and got up out of his chair. He turned around and looked at the painting on the wall behind him with a small sigh. He had worked so hard to climb his way to the top. To find himself under the Fire Nation princess's foot at this stage in the game was frustrating to say the least. 

He reached out to touch the painting but halted when he heard a sound from behind. Turning around, he was surprised to see a masked man standing at the doorway while his guards were mere heaps on the floor in the hall. His surprise doubled when the man came into the room and removed the cloth on his face to reveal a familiar face.

"I'm amazed you're actually still alive, boy," Long Feng said, disdain clearly in his voice. "A smarter person would not have returned after surviving what you did."

"I only lost because you messed with my head," Jet retorted, already brimming with anger just from seeing his face. "It won't be so easy this time."

Long Feng folded his hands behind his back as he walked around from behind his desk. "You give yourself too much credit. I have decades of fighting experience beyond you."

Jet smirked. "And I have plenty of youth. I think that makes us even."

The earthbender glared darkly. "Impudent fool." He made the first attack as a wedge of stone came up out of the floor and sped towards Jet, much in the same way as the near-fatal blow he had dealt the boy the last time around.

This time, however, Jet jumped onto it, using it as a stepping stone to launch himself towards his opponent. Long Feng countered by summoning a boulder out of the floor and hurling it at the boy. Being in mid air, it was impossible for Jet to dodge. Instead, he swung his hooks down onto the boulder, curled his legs up under him, and pulled himself over the top of the boulder. Then extending his leg, he landed the heel of his foot right into the earthbender's chest.

Long Feng stumbled back into his desk and fell. He was quick to get back to his feet, but Jet was quicker. Swinging his hook upward, catching the older man's clothes with it, Jet turned and tossed him over his head. Long Feng landed in the center of the room with a loud thud.

"Was that your backbone I just heard cracking?" Jet asked with a smirk.

Long Feng was up before the boy was finished talking. Wordlessly, he held an arm out in front of him then quickly pulled it back in towards himself, ending with a fisted hand positioned at his side. As he did so, a sizable piece of rock came forth from the wall behind Jet and rammed him in the back. The force sent the boy sprawling at Long Feng's feet. The earthbender placed a foot on Jet's head. "You were saying?"

With a growl, Jet swung his hook at his opponent, causing him to jump back. The boy stood and the fighting continued. Jet was doing pretty well holding his own for a while. However, it soon became apparent that, at least in this case, experience will triumph over youth.

Jet found himself panting, barely able to stay on his feet. He was hurting and bleeding from more places than he could count.

Long Feng stood before him, cold and completely unaffected by the boy's apparent suffering. "I commend you for lasting this long. It is at least an accomplishment, no matter how small, that you can take with you to the grave."

Before he could deal the final blow, however, a string of arrows came out of nowhere and pinned Long Feng to the wall.

Jet turned and was shocked to find the people he thought he would never see again. "Long Shot… Smellerbee…"

While Long Shot already had another set of arrows aimed at Long Feng, Smellerbee folded her arms and looked at her leader with a wide smirk. "You didn't really think you'd get rid of us _that_ easily, did you? We knew you'd come back here sooner or later."

Jet closed his eyes for a moment and gave a genuine smile. Then he tossed his hook swords over to Smellerbee. "Hang on to those for a minute."

Turning his attention back to Long Feng, his usual smirk fully in place, the Freedom Fighter cracked his knuckles. "Get ready, old man." He ran towards the earthbender at full speed as he pulled his fist back.

Long Feng knew what was coming, but pride prevented him from crying out or begging for mercy. Then with a battle cry, Jet punched him square in the face as hard as he possibly could. In an instant, Long Feng was out cold, hanging limply from the arrows.

"Ahh… That felt good," Jet sighed as he dragged himself over to the desk to sit in the chair and catch his breath.

His companions joined him. "Are you all right?" Smellerbee asked with concern.

"Yeah. Cuts and bruises, but nothing major. Just give me a minute." Unfortunately, Jet wasn't able to get that minute as his eyes fell on Azula's scroll. Swiping it off the table, he read through the contents as a sense of dread began to grow in the pit of his stomach. "Not good. They know we're coming. We have to get to the palace. Aang and the others are there." He jumped to his feet, his fatigue forgotten, and headed for the door.

"What?" Smellerbee exclaimed as she and Long Shot followed. "The Avatar?!"

"I'll fill you in on the way." Then Jet suddenly halted. He turned around and marched right back to the desk.

"Jet, what are you doing?" Smellerbee asked, somewhat baffled.

Jet studied the painting on the wall behind the desk. "He was over here fiddling with something when I walked in on him," he said thoughtfully. "Why would he do that at a time like this?" He lifted the painting away from the wall and found a switch of some sort behind it. When he pushed on it, one of the bookcases opened up like a door to reveal a tunnel behind it.

All three of them simply stared at the tunnel entry for a moment.

"Huh. What do you know? A secret passage," Jet finally said. "Bet it's a shortcut to the palace. Let's go." He entered, and the others followed.

* * *

"The throne room's just up ahead," Sokka whispered as he, Aang, and Zuko continued slinking through the grand halls. "If they're not there, then we'll have to check Azula's quarters." 

The other two nodded in response. Their task was simple. While Sokka distracts Ty Lee, Aang and Zuko will team up against Azula. Zuko wasn't too thrilled about the two against one idea, but he understood the importance of defeating Azula in order to gain victory.

"Something's not right here," Zuko said. "This was way too easy. We didn't even run into a single guard this entire time."

"Not even a random person, in fact," Aang added as they approached the entrance to the throne room.

"I think it's a trap," Zuko said with a frown.

Then suddenly, Ty Lee jumped down from somewhere above and landed behind them. "You thought right!" she affirmed cheerily then promptly kicked them all into the room.

When the boys looked up, they saw Azula seated on the throne with Mai standing at her side.

"Welcome back, Zuzu," Azula said as she smiled down at her brother. "And look. You even brought the Avatar with you."

Zuko said nothing.

"What? No words of greeting for your sister?" Azula asked. "And to think I even went to the trouble of clearing the path for you," she said with a mocking sigh then got to her feet. "Well then. Have it your way."

Taking that as the signal to begin, Zuko and Aang got into their fighting stances while Sokka turned around to face the bubbly acrobat. "Hey, Ty Lee, guess what?"

The girl giggled. "What?" she asked expectantly.

"My very beautiful girlfriend is standing right over there." He pointed somewhere off to the left.

"What?!" she asked again, with a bit of disappointment in her voice this time as she turned to look. "Where?"

Taking advantage of her distraction, Sokka ran past her and out of the throne room.

Realizing that she'd been tricked, Ty Lee turned to give chase. "Hey! No fair!"

Back inside the throne room, Zuko and Aang rushed forth, ready to take on Azula. However, they didn't get very far when a pair of knives planted themselves into the floor right in front of Zuko's feet, causing him to stop. The prince turned his attention to Mai.

"Your opponent will be me, Prince Zuko," Mai said in her usual apathetic tone of voice. "After all, I must repay you for the scar you gave me." As soon as that was said, she jumped down from the top of the stairs and forced Zuko into fighting with her.

Aang was now left to face Azula alone. He looked up at the princess who was staring down at him with a devious smile and gulped. _This definitely wasn't a part of the plan…_

* * *

Author's Confession: I never liked history or social studies. My policy in those classes had always been to memorize the material long enough to ace the test and then promptly forget it. So, why am I telling you this? Well, basically it means I don't know much about war and battle tactics or how troops work. So, if I've overlooked something obvious, please forgive. And if it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about…it's because I'm just making it up as I go. Haha! But hopefully, it at least sounds somewhat plausible. 

Many thanks to my reviewers! I got some nice feedback last chapter. Makes me happy. XD

So, I heard the season three premiere would be on September 21st. I'm going to shoot for getting this story wrapped up before then.

Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Never let it be said that Katara of the Water Tribe was incapable of multitasking. The girl was currently in the river amongst the Fire Nation warships, balancing herself on a personal sized glacier to stay afloat, pushing on the water with her bending to keep pace with said ships, all the while maintaining a layer of mist both thick and wide enough to shroud all five ships and provide cover for Iroh and herself. After all, if the weather did not call for mist, there was no way the mist would stay in the air unless she willed it to. That was precisely why she had to stay with the ships instead of racing ahead to ensure she would be the first to reach the river's bottleneck.

At various intervals, Katara would hear the blasts from Iroh and Appa's attacks chasing the ships from behind. If she didn't count wrong, the next one should be the last.

As if on cue, another watery explosion went off. And to confirm Katara's thoughts, the ships in the front began maneuvering themselves to form a line in preparations for passing through the narrowest point of the river.

_This is it!_ The waterbender held both arms in front of her with her palms facing down and swung them behind her in a downward arc, "pushing" on the water to increase her speed. She continued in this way until she caught up with the ship in the front. Then abandoning her glacier all together, she jumped onto the river and skated across the water's surface as though on ice.

When she reached the bottleneck, she turned around to face the ships, skidding to a stop. Looking to either sides of the river, she immediately located the foliage-covered barrels of blasting jelly that she and Iroh had placed along the banks beforehand. With a few quick and graceful arm movements, she was able to coax enough water onto the banks to embrace those barrels and bring them into the river.

After taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she raised both arms high up into the air and, with much effort, tried to call forth the biggest wave she could muster…a wave that had to span the entire width of the river. _Come on! Reach!_

By now the mist had lifted, and the soldiers on the ships were finally able to see their surroundings. They had expected to find Earth Kingdom soldiers, perhaps rebels. On a less likely level, maybe even a band of extremely gutsy thieves. However, what they saw looming before them instead was a towering wave, frozen into ice, blocking their path. And standing on top of the crystallized wave was nothing more than a young girl. When the crew finally came out of their stupor, the ships in the front quickly came to a stop, warning those in the back to do the same.

Once Katara saw that she had their attention, she projected her voice and spoke, concealing as much of her exhaustion as possible. "If you value your lives, don't move. You're practically in the middle of a mine field."

Confused and not entirely convinced, the soldiers peered into the river. Much to their dismay, what they found were barrels of blasting jelly floating in their midst, each on it's own sheet of ice. It wasn't that there were an overwhelming number of barrels, but they all knew that one strategically placed explosion can effectively disable a ship, and the girl was obviously a waterbender. But how would she light the explosives?

As if to answer their unasked question, Katara spoke again. "If you so much as twitch the wrong way, you'll be blown sky high." She held up an arm and pointed to the night sky. At her signal, a stream of fire came down from above and lit one of the barrels farther away from the ships, setting it off as a demonstration.

Almost immediately, a panicked crewmember could be heard screaming. "Fire came down from that ominous black cloud!" he said as he pointed a shaky finger to the sky. "IT'S THE WRATH OF AGNI!!"

The captain of that ship stood beside him and frowned up at the "black cloud" that circled unnaturally in the airspace above. After getting a better look, it became clear that it wasn't a cloud at all. Another look at the waterbender, and everything came together. The captain smacked the back of the hysterical soldier's head in annoyance. "That's the Avatar's flying buffalo, you imbecile!"

Nonetheless, whether it was a cloud or a buffalo, there was no escaping the fact that they had fallen into their enemy's trap.

* * *

While Zuko spent most of his energy fending off the seemingly endless waves of projectiles Mai sent his way, a small part of him was keeping tabs on his sister and his friend. It didn't require close observation to see that things weren't going in the airbender's favor. All Aang did was evade and defend. Never once did he attack. And it didn't take long for Zuko to figure out why. By now, he had spent enough time training with the boy and knew him well enough to recognize the uncertainty in his movements. Aang was afraid of Azula. 

It was only natural. Azula was the one who nearly claimed his life. Although a lot has happened since then, in truth, not that much time had passed…not nearly enough for a full psychological recovery from the trauma of near death. At this rate, Aang wouldn't last long. Zuko knew he had to help but in order to do that, he must first deal with Mai.

There were only two plausible reasons why Mai would be fighting with him right now. The first one was that since Azula was present, she had to do it to keep up pretenses. The second reason…and the prince really, really hoped it wasn't the case…was that everything she had told him before had been a complete lie. She had said those things in order to lure them back to Ba Sing Se, and he had stupidly taken the bait and led everyone straight into a trap.

Observing her now as she attacked him relentlessly, Zuko honestly didn't know which to believe. With her emotions carefully tucked away, he was completely unable to read her. The apathetic eyes that stared back at him were almost unnerving. He had been holding back because of his uncertainty, but time was a luxury they didn't have…a luxury Aang didn't have. Zuko had to retaliate in earnest.

So far, they had been fighting while maintaining a certain amount of distance between them. Mai would throw her knives, which Zuko would then block or deflect with the broadsword in his left hand. Whenever possible, which wasn't very often, he would use firebending to attack with his right hand. Since Mai was the more adept long-range fighter, the distance gave her an obvious advantage. In order to level the playing field, he had to force her into close combat.

As soon as Mai threw her next string of stilettos, Zuko moved in. Fast. While he was able to deflect most with his sword, one grazed the side of his face while another planted itself into his thigh. He refused to let this stop him or even slow him down. With gritted teeth, he pulled the stiletto out and tossed it aside, ignoring the pain as he continued to close the gap.

Before Mai could launch her next wave of projectiles, Zuko was already dangerously close. Adjusting her tactics accordingly, she jumped back and took up a fighting stance with a dagger in each hand. Zuko came to a stop before her, swinging his pair of broadswords almost leisurely as the two began circling each other, watching, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Size wasn't always everything, but…unfortunately for Mai…in this case, it was. Compared to the size of his swords, her daggers were sorely outmatched. With an average swordsman she could probably take a chance, but Zuko's skills were exceptional. He could cut her three times over before her daggers could even reach him. Not wanting to test her theories, Mai turned to her next option: run.

She threw her daggers at Zuko as a distraction, then immediately turned and made a run for it. She went through a doorway and into the waiting chamber connected to the throne room. It was the room where, before the Fire Nation took over, the Earth King would sit and wait for himself to be properly announced before entering the throne room to meet his subjects. Unfortunately, this luxurious sitting room with all its expensive art and furniture was about to get trashed.

Just as Zuko entered the chamber, he was faced with a series of flying objects, starting with a chair, which he ducked to avoid, followed by a vase, which he sliced cleanly in half with his sword, and then another chair, which he kicked to the side. As he dodged more random objects that came flying his way, including a miniature statue of the Earth King and a bust of his beloved bear, Zuko thought to himself, _Mai really likes throwing things._ He would have found it amusing if he weren't the one at the receiving end of it. And now, wielding a stool in her hands…something much bigger than a dagger…she was the one closing in on him. He took a step back and realized belatedly that she had backed him up against a wall. _Damn it!_

Next thing he knew, she had already tossed the stool aside and was charging in at him with another knife in hand. She came in low, pushing him up against the wall with her shoulder to his chest. Then her other arm, the one holding the knife, pulled back slightly before thrusting forward.

Zuko prepared for the worst, but the pain never came. When he looked down, he saw that she had embedded the blade into the wall instead of his abdomen. And when she finally turned her face up to look at him, her mask came off, and he was able to read her emotions again, just like that day in the cave.

"Zuko, I'm sorry," she said with slightly creased brows, her voice barely above a whisper. "Azula recognized the Avatar's earthbender and realized something must be going on. There wasn't anything I could do about it."

A sense of relief washed over Zuko. Mai was on his side after all. But relief quickly turned to alarm as all of her words sank in. "She recognized Toph? Then Toph's in danger!" He tried to push her away, but she held her ground.

"No! Don't worry about that. You just focus on what _you_ need to do here." She stepped back away from him and took a moment to recompose herself. "Trust me."

Zuko stared back at her, taking a moment to refocus. She was right, of courses. What was he thinking? He had his part to play. With a wordless nod, he stepped around her and headed back into the throne room.

Mai turned and followed as far as the doorway to watch things unfold while remaining hidden. She couldn't help but tense up. Both Zuko and Azula were her friends, and she wished things didn't have to be this way. She knew that if Azula were to win, Zuko's fate would be sealed. But if Zuko were to win, Azula still had a chance to live. All she could do now was wait and pray for the best outcome.

* * *

Azula let loose another stream of flames and, just as she predicted, the airbender dodged. "I'm a little tired of this game of cat and mouse," she said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Aren't you going to attack?" 

Aang glared back at her the best he could. He couldn't rationalize why he was doing what he was doing. It was like his body had a mind of its own. Every time he saw the searing blue flames coming from the Fire Nation princess, his body just reacted on its own, wanting to move out of the way. It was like he had no control over it, and it frustrated him to no end.

Azula smirked as though seeing through his fear. "Perhaps you were waiting for this?" Her arm drew an arc in the air, lightning sizzling at her fingertips.

At the sight of the lightning, the monk froze. It was merely a moment's hesitation, but that moment could have cost him his life if someone hadn't rammed into him from the side right before the lightning hit. They tumbled over each other a few times before finally coming to a stop.

Aang shook his head a bit in attempt to get rid of the dizziness. When he got his bearings, he finally saw who it was that had come to his aid. "Zuko!"

By now, Zuko was already back on his feet, facing Azula with a stern expression on his features. While keeping his eyes on his sister, he spoke in a low voice only Aang could hear. "She's an exceptional firebender, but you have all four elements at your disposal. Stop running."

Aang blinked as though only realizing just then that that was in fact what he had been doing. Jumping to his feet, he took up a stance beside Zuko. "Right!"

Zuko spared a sideways glance at the boy. "I've got your back."

The aribender smiled inwardly at that reassurance. His previous tensions began to dissipate as he remembered he wasn't facing this alone. "And I've got yours."

"Fighting two against one?" Azula asked almost conversationally. "Have you lost that sense of honor you could never stop talking about, or have you simply become a coward, Zuzu?"

Zuko smirked. He knew what she was trying to do. "It's not going to work this time, Azula."

The princess narrowed her eyes, scowling slightly. "Are you really going to betray our father?"

"No." Zuko's reply was almost immediate, but it was calm and collected. "I'm just done with betraying myself."

Though Azula simmered at his words, she had to admit she was also somewhat impressed. Somehow, in the brief period of time since they'd last seen each other, her brother had changed. His will had strengthened, and he wouldn't be so easily manipulated anymore. Nevertheless, it wouldn't do to have his ego go out of control. She had to put him in his place and remind him who was the stronger sibling. She smiled her darkest smile. "Well said. But I will make you regret your choice."

In response, flames came to life, dancing around the pair of swords in Zuko's hands. After the boys shared a nod, all three benders moved in for round two.

* * *

Sokka ran, ran, and ran some more. To say he was reluctant to fight Ty Lee would be an understatement. In any case, his part of the plan was simply to lead the acrobat away to prevent her from helping Azula. Engaging in combat wasn't actually required to carry out that part. And if running circles through the palace halls all night was what he had to do to fulfill his part without having to come in contact with her magic fingers, then, hey, he was all for it. But Sokka had never been a very lucky person. His planned out nightlong marathon had barely begun when the girl had already caught up to him. Time for plan B: turn around and fight. 

Just to reiterate, Sokka had never been a very lucky person. Plan B only went as far as "turn around" when Ty Lee's fingers invaded his personal space and jabbed him in his left shoulder, rendering his left arm completely useless. In that instant, he retaliated by kicking her in the stomach with his right foot, shoving her away, the force landing both of them on their bottoms.

Ty Lee clutched her stomach and whimpered. "Ouch…That wasn't very nice…"

While the girl was busy recovering, Sokka quickly retrieved a small needle from his pocket. After giving it a scrutinizing look, he pierced himself with it in the left shoulder where Ty Lee had jabbed him. "Ow!" He pulled the needle out and repeated in a slightly different area. "Ow!" Then again. "Ow!" And again. "Ow!"

After about thirty or so self-inflicted needle punctures, his left arm twitched as the numbness went away. "Ah-ha-HA!! YES!" Sokka brightened at his success, but wasted no time in celebration. He immediately jumped back to his feet and resumed plan A: nightlong marathon.

Ty Lee was momentarily stunned with disbelief. However, seeing that the Water Tribe boy had bolted again forced her out of her stupor. Scrambling to her feet, she pursued.

Sokka couldn't help but grin as he continued to run. "Zuko…I can almost _kiss_ you right now!" Images of his conversation with the prince on the night he explained the plan to everyone flashed through his mind:

"_How fast a learner are you?" Zuko asked._

_Sokka gave a questioning look. "What do you mean?"_

"_If you intend to face Ty Lee alone, you'll need more than just your boomerang. That village where the doctors held Aang and I captive…it's not too far from here. The way their acupuncture manipulates the flow of chi is a lot like how Ty Lee does it. Maybe they'll have some way to counter her moves."_

_Sokka frowned. "You just said so yourself…they held you captive. We're not exactly buddies with them. Why would they help us?"_

"_Jet has a good relationship with them," Zuko reasoned. "He could go."_

_Jet shrugged. "I don't mind."_

_Sokka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I still don't think they'll just hand over their village's secrets just like that."_

"_They will for a price," Zuko said with a smirk. "They were about to sell out the Avatar after all." He pulled out a small embroidered black pouch from his boot and emptied its contents onto the ground: five gold pieces. "This can do a lot for a dying village."_

_Sokka's jaws hit the ground. "It could have done a lot for us, too!" he scowled. "You mean you had all that wealth stuffed in your boot this whole time, and you never said a word about it?!"_

_Zuko merely shrugged. "I was saving it for an emergency."_

In the end, Jet came back with a box of acupuncture needles and two scrolls. One was a map of the human body, charting out the various pressure points. The other scroll detailed out the basics of how to block and unblock chi via pressure points. As an added bonus…a gift from Zi Wen, Jet had said…three of the pressure points on the human chart had been circled: two on the chest to take away bending, and one on the neck to render someone unconscious. At the time, Sokka had worried about how much information Jet must have divulged to the girl in order to get that bit of extra knowledge, but it was inconsequential at this point.

Sokka literally had just days to learn and memorize everything. Aang was the only one nice enough…or perhaps naïve enough…to let the Water Tribe boy use him as a guinea pig to practice on while Katara stood by to constantly heal the boy's over-poked skin.

Sokka had been skeptical of the idea. But now, as Ty Lee chased him from behind, occasionally hollering out a "How'd you do that?!", he couldn't be more ecstatic about his new trick. He was an amateur at best, but hey, who cares as long as it works? Definitely not Sokka.

* * *

So transfixed was Mai on what was going on in the next room, she hadn't even noticed when one of the bookshelves on the opposite side of the waiting chamber slid open like a door and three people emerged. 

Jet, on the other hand, set his sights on Mai as soon as he entered the room. "You two, go find Sokka," he said to his companions. "I've got this one."

Long Shot and Smellerbee gave a quick nod before darting out the doorway that led them into the halls.

At the sound of voices, Mai turned around and launched a string of throwing stars at the intruder.

Though surprised, Jet wasn't slow to get out of the way with a tuck and roll to the side. When he got back to his feet, he found Mai staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face and a set of knives at the ready in both hands. The Freedom Fighter smirked. "This should be interesting."

* * *

Smellerbee and Long Shot sped down the hallways but were stopped before long by a handful of Dai Li agents who materialized from out of the shadows, surrounding them. However, before the two even had time to feel the shock, a slightly larger group of Earth Kingdom soldiers dropped in from out of nowhere and tackled said Dai Li agents from behind. 

"Go!" One of the Earth Kingdom soldiers called out to them as he struggled to restrain his captive. "We'll take care of things here!"

Smellerbee wasn't about to argue. "Right!" She took off again with Long Shot following closely behind.

* * *

Out in the Fire Nation troops' campsite, just outside the inner city walls, all was quiet. They were too far away from the palace as well as the river to hear any of the commotion that had been going on. Those poor soldiers. Oblivious, they were missing out on all the action. 

Being as oblivious as they were, it was safe to assume that none of them had seen it coming when a little girl and four of the city's five great generals, who should have been locked up in prison, suddenly came out of the ground at various points along the perimeter of their camp. It was probably also safe to assume that every last one of them had been stunned speechless when, with the combined efforts of just these five individuals, they had managed to raise a massive twenty-foot high stone wall that encircled the entire campsite.

Standing atop the wall with her arms folded, Toph grinned in a way that could only be described as cocky. "Welcome to the city, my little firecrackers. Thought we'd give you a proper greeting…Ba Sing Se style," she said as she squatted down to give the wall a few pats with her hand for emphasis.

After that less than flattering comment, some of the captains within the troops finally regained their wits enough to bark out orders. In no time, tanks began charging towards the wall. But before any of them could reach their destination, one by one, the tanks were all raised up off the ground, teetering uselessly atop stone pillars.

When the tanks failed, foot soldiers moved in en masse. Five against hundreds. Surely the odds were in their favor.

Not so.

Toph smirked to herself. _Time for some crowd control._

General How raised an arm in signal, and immediately Earth Kingdom troops…a whole lot of them…climbed up onto the wall and joined their generals. Those who were benders got to work, summoning deadly spikes from the ground below to point in the direction of the advancing troops, effectively forcing them to a stop.

Everything grew quiet as the Fire Nation soldiers froze once more in disbelief.

"It's a bit anticlimactic," Toph said as she raised an earthen armchair, almost like a throne, out of the wall to sit on. "But face it. You guys aren't going anywhere," she finished with a grin that couldn't be wiped off her face. With one leg up on the seat, she draped an arm casually over her knee while her other hand supported her chin with an elbow on the armrest. She'd be here for a while. Might as well make herself comfortable.

As for those poor Fire Nation soldiers…not so oblivious anymore, but still missing out on all the action.

* * *

Aside from the sound of the rushing water overflowing onto the banks in attempt to get around either sides of the wave-shaped ice sculpture barring their flow, things were relatively quiet along the river. Under Katara's watchful eye, as well as Iroh's and Appa's from above, it appeared their captive troops had heeded their warning to stay put. 

However, unbeknownst to all, the captain of the ship in the far back had a different idea. The catapult on his ship was loaded and ready. All they had to do was light it and launch. It would only take a few seconds to do, and neither the waterbender nor the flying bison would be able to stop the attack in time. Once the wave breaks down, the mines, being so much lighter than the ships, should rush down the river ahead of them, leaving the ships out of harm's way. He had been weighing the pros and cons for a while now and finally came to a decision. "Launch the projectile," he said quietly to his lieutenant standing on deck beside him.

The lieutenant turned to him with blinking eyes, almost positive he must have heard wrong. "Sir?"

"I said, launch the projectile," he repeated through clenched teeth.

"But, captain," the lieutenant began, "a flaming projectile of this size will likely set off a few of the mines."

The captain was losing his patience. "That is my intention. I want that wave shattered and the waterbender dead."

"But…the catapult isn't a weapon of precision. Our ships up front will surely get caught in the explosions!" The man tried to keep his voice down as his eyes widened in horror.

The captain turned and fixed an intense glare on his subordinate. "Are you aware who that girl is, lieutenant?"

The Lieutenant glanced up at the flying bison circling above and sighed. Seeing where their argument was going, he realized he had already lost. Dejectedly, he gave his reply. "I can't be certain, but she is most likely the Avatar's waterbender."

"Which means if we eliminate her here and now, we would be doing the Fire Lord and our nation a great service. One or two ships and a handful of crewmembers is a small sacrifice for such an achievement," the captain said, enunciating every word slowly and clearly to make sure he got his point across. "Now, I will not repeat myself again, lieutenant." He turned his attention back to the waterbender and smirked. The girl was too naïve. She probably thought they wouldn't try to attack because she was standing so close to their own. He would prove her wrong.

Grudgingly and reluctantly, the lieutenant obliged. "Yes, captain." After relaying the order to two of the soldiers on deck, he watched as one of them went discretely over to the projectile and used firebending to light it. The other was in position to launch when suddenly, and roughly, the front of the ship began to tilt upward.

"What's going on?!" the captain hollered.

One of the crewmembers clinging onto the railing at the front of the ship turned to answer. "Captain! Rocks are jutting up from the riverbed!"

When they looked toward the other ships, they saw that the same thing was happening to them as well. Stone spikes emerged from the river to force the front end of the ships out of water, making it impossible for them to sail.

When they looked to the forest, everything became clear. The cavalry had arrived. Earth Kingdom soldiers mounted on ostrich horses, led by General Sung, were beginning to gather at the riverbanks. Some had already dismounted and were contributing to the effort of ship raising.

In all the commotion, the soldier who had been given the task of launching the projectile accidentally launched it in his attempt to steady himself by grabbing onto something. Unfortunately, since the ship had been tilted upward, the range of the projectile had shortened and will no longer reach the ice wave. Instead, it was headed straight for the back of that first ship.

Lucky for them, Katara saw that thing the second it left the catapult and jumped into action. Sliding off the crystallized wave, she rode on a smaller wave, her eyes never leaving the fireball in the air as she raced forward to intercept. Then using both of her arms, she pulled a stream of water out of the river not a moment too soon and directed it at the flaming projectile, neutralizing it just as it hit the deck.

Iroh took Appa down to meet Katara as she came out of the water. What he had just witnessed nearly made his heart stop. "Katara!" he said as he climbed off of the bison's head to go give her a hand. "Are you all right?"

The waterbender accepted the outstretched hand gratefully as she panted. Then she smiled and gave the old firebender a reassuring nod. She was a bit exhausted but otherwise fine. In any case, she didn't have time to just hang around.

At that moment, General Sung came to join them. "Katara," he said in greeting with a polite bow.

Katara returned the bow then immediately got down to business. "General Sung, this is _former_ General Iroh of the Fire Nation and _current_ irreplaceable personal advisor of the Avatar's," she said gently but firmly as she gestured to the retired general. "And I _do_ stress the word _**irreplaceable**_."

The two old men shared an uncomfortable glance at each other.

Sung nodded. "I understand."

"Good," Katara responded with a small smile of relief. "I have to go help the others, so I'll leave Iroh in charge of the operation here. Thanks for your help, general." She was so eager to get going that she didn't even notice the two men's blanched and wide-eyed state as she climbed atop Appa's head and took to the sky.

Silence hung between the two former enemies as they tried to look everywhere except at each other. When their eyes accidentally met, they exchanged an awkward smile and nod.

Iroh cleared his throat. "Uh…nice day for an ambush, huh?" he asked in attempt to dispel the tension.

Sung blinked at him with slightly creased brows, one side of his lips curled up a bit in an attempted half smile, not quite sure if he should actually respond.

* * *

It didn't take long before Sokka had to fall back on plan B again. By now he had given in to the fact that there just was no outrunning Ty Lee. At least this time around he was actually fighting the girl, engaging in their weird dance of strike and dodge once more. In fact, he was about to perform something of a miracle…or what some would call a lucky shot. 

As Ty Lee aimed at his left shoulder with her right arm, fingers extended, Sokka shifted slightly to his right and caught her wrist with his left hand. Then he stepped down on her right foot with his left one, pinning it to the floor. With both of her right limbs secured, he brought his right knee up for an attack, forcing her to block with her left arm. In that very instant, he brought forth his right hand with as many needles as he could hold in the gaps between his fingers and shoved them all into her right shoulder, hoping that one would hit the spot.

"Ouch! That really stings!!" the acrobat complained. A moment later, her eyes widened in shock. "What'd you do?! I can't feel my arm!!"

"What?!" Sokka asked with equally wide eyes. "It worked?!" He let go of her wrist and watched as her arm fell and dangled limply at her side. He stepped back away from her in slight wonder, which then turned to excitement. "HA! See how YOU like it!"

Ty Lee glared back at him with a pout as her working hand busied itself with pulling out the needles. As soon as that was done, she lunged at him but found herself suddenly restrained by two pairs of arms from behind. "Hey!" she gasped as she turned to give her captors a frown with a mixture of confusion and indignation.

Standing on either side of the Fire Nation girl were Long Shot and Smellerbee, each with one of her arms tightly secured within their own.

"Where did you guys come from?" Sokka inquired, confused as well.

"Never mind that," Smellerbee replied with a slight smirk. "Thought we'd give you a hand."

"Oh, right," Sokka said as he approached, pulling out another needle from his pocket. "Just hold her still, will ya?" He leaned in and gave Ty Lee a little poke on the neck.

"Ow!" the girl complained as she twisted her head to the side in her futile attempt to get away. "What are you doing?!"

"Wait a sec, wait a sec," Sokka said with a frown of concentration. "I got it this time." He tried again.

"Hey! Quit it!"

"If you'll quit moving around, I'll get it right!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Just hold still!"

Long Shot and Smellerbee eyed each other as the strange argument continued. Eventually, Smellerbee interjected. "Sokka, what _are_ you doing?"

"Trying to make her lose consciousness," the Water Tribe boy explained without looking up from his task.

"Oh," the tomboy replied, finally understanding…but at the same time getting more confused. "Well, I can help you with that." She raised her fist and backhanded Ty Lee on the skull, putting her out instantaneously.

Sokka's jaws slacked as he stared at the limp form of the girl now dangling between the two Freedom Fighters. Then he folded his arms with a pout. "I was going to do it the sophisticated way," he grumbled, upset at the lost chance to show off his new skills.

* * *

Azula didn't think that fighting her brother and the Avatar at the same time would be easy. Then again, she hadn't counted on it being this difficult either. They were working together, deliberately keeping her trapped between the two of them so she would have to constantly fend off attacks from both sides. Whenever she would manage to maneuver herself out from the middle, one of them would keep her engaged while the other would reposition himself behind her again, bringing her back to square one. And because they were moving at such an aggressive tempo, keeping a constant close proximity to each other as they weaved fluidly between one another while exchanging flame-laced blows at an incredible speed, the use of lightning had been impossible thus far. 

Azula wasn't surprised that the Avatar had learned firebending. She had a feeling her traitorous uncle would teach it to him after the boy had rescued him. What she did find irksome, however, was the fact that she could no longer predict Zuko's moves like she used to. Even though he was still firebending, he moved differently somehow. It was like fighting a different person. She had lost another advantage over him, and she didn't like it.

Zuko caught the slight irritated frown on his sister's face and smirked inwardly, knowing she was probably having trouble reading him. Sparring against a waterbender, an earthbender, an airbender, and a swordsman on an almost daily basis…all of them masters of their art…was bound to have an effect on his skills and fighting style. If he could throw her off with it, then it was just that much better.

How the three of them had managed to keep their limbs, not to mention swords, from getting caught up in a tangled mess so far was a mystery Aang didn't have time to ponder on at the moment. He knew that any slip in concentration or slack in coordination on anyone's part would result in such a mess. On some level, he could appreciate the beauty in the flow of their movements. If it weren't for the reasons behind their fight, he might have even considered it fun. But all things must come to an end.

When Aang saw the opening he'd been waiting for, he switched from firebending to earthbending, summoning a pole straight up out of the floor from right under Azula, aiming for her midriff. The force of the attack was strong enough that, if it hit, the fight would be over. Unfortunately, not only did she sidestep it, her hand caught onto the top of the pole and she ascended with it as it shot fifteen feet up above the floor. Pushing off the pole with her feet, she landed many feet away from the boys, finally escaping their trap.

"Oops," Aang said almost sheepishly. "That didn't work out like I thought."

"I can see that," Zuko deadpanned.

They didn't have time to dwell on the matter. As soon as Azula got free, she wasted no time in calling forth her lightning. The two boys jumped to either side just as an angry bolt came in, scorching the spot on the floor they had just been standing on. They continued to dart away from each other, jumping, dodging, and rolling as the princess took alternating shots at both of them consecutively.

In her fury off attacks, Azula almost didn't notice the boys were repositioning themselves with her in the middle again. But with the increased distances between them now, she didn't think it mattered. She sent another bolt of electricity towards her brother and, to her surprise, instead of dodging, he absorbed the energy with one sword and sent it back her way through the other sword. She ducked in evasion then turned her sharp eyes back to Zuko and frowned as she put two and two together: he was the masked man who helped in her uncle's escape.

The prince smirked as he saw the realization in her eyes. "I'd pay more attention if I were you."

Her eyes widened as she whipped around just in time to see that same bolt of lightning returning to her yet again. Aang had intercepted the lightning she dodged and redirected it back to her. The strike missed her body but caught her arm. Since the human body conducted electricity, getting zapped in the arm meant getting a full body jolt. Azula lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor, succumbing to the effects of her own power.

Zuko sheathed his swords and ran over to his sister. Getting down on one knee, he reached for her neck to check for a pulse. _She's alive._ He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and turned his attention to the monk who had come and joined his side. "You did that on purpose."

"Did what on purpose?" Aang asked with a slightly bemused frown.

The prince lightly brushed a strand of hair away from Azula's face with an unreadable expression on his features. "Missed her vitals."

"Ah…" Subconsciously, the airbender clasped a hand over his chest as he looked at the fallen princess with downcast eyes. "It's not a feeling I would wish on anyone…no matter who it is."

Zuko glanced over at the boy and blinked, eventually breaking into a small smile. _I should have expected as much._

"Let's go find Sokka," Aang said as he stood.

Zuko was about to agree when sounds of fighting could be heard coming from the waiting chamber. He frowned as he got back to his feet. "Why don't you go. Sounds like Mai might need some help."

Aang nodded and they split up.

* * *

Mai frowned ever so slightly. To some degree, Jet was like her natural enemy…never mind that she didn't even know who the heck he was. By hooking one of his swords onto the end of the other and spinning it like a windmill, he was able to deflect everything she threw at him with ease. And to top it off, she was down to her last pair of stilettos. It was bound to happen since she had already exhausted most of her supplies during her fight with Zuko. 

She had no choice but to move in. If she could get him to stop spinning that darn hook of his, she might just have a chance to get a more accurate throw at closer range.

Seeing the change in her stance, Jet returned the hilt of his spinning hook to his hand. With a smirk on his face, his hook swords firmly grasped in his hands, he crossed his arms in front of him before charging in towards his opponent.

Mai dashed forth as well, eyes scanning for an opening.

This was the scene Zuko walked into. Alarm bells went off in his head as he belatedly realized that none of them had mentioned anything about Mai to Jet. The Freedom Fighter had no idea she was on their side. "Jet! Wait!"

It was too late.

Jet was a lot faster than Mai had expected. Before she had a chance to throw her stilettos, he was already within reach, poised to strike. Uncrossing his arms, swinging both limbs outward with deadly force, his hooks dug deep into her flesh, leaving a pair of horizontal cuts across her abdomen.

Zuko's blood froze. "Mai!" He rushed over as she began to fall. Sliding in from behind, he caught the girl right before she hit the floor.

* * *

A/N: I tried to keep it concise, but this chapter still ended up a lot longer than I thought it would be. Hope you didn't fall asleep. Haha. I'm just ecstatic that I'm finally done with all the action stuff. I'm all actioned out. Bleh… LOL! 

This was another one of those "I wish I could animate it" chapters. The series of moves Sokka pulled on Ty Lee to immobilize her arm is supposed to happen within a split second, but boy, it sure took a lot of words to describe. And the high speed hand to hand combat between Aang, Zuko, and Azula…I only hope I was able to describe it half as well as I'm seeing it in my head.

Many thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated!

OK! Off to get working on the next chapter. I'm still trying to meet my self-imposed deadline…


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Kneeling on the floor with one arm tightly wrapped around Mai's shoulders, Zuko placed his other hand over her abdomen, applying pressure in attempt to stop the bleeding. She grasped his hand with hers as she hissed in response to the pain.

Jet was confused. All he could do was gape in horror. Wasn't this girl their enemy? Seeing the prince's reactions, that was obviously not the case. A sinking feeling gathered in the pit of his stomach as he realized he had just made a terrible mistake. As much as he would like to, he simply could not tear his eyes away from the wounds he had inflicted. Had he really gutted her just like that? What was he thinking?! Even if she _was_ Fire Nation!

"Find Katara!"

Zuko's voice startled Jet out of his thoughts. _That's right…Katara!_ Unable to form words of his own, he simply nodded and darted out of the room with haste.

Zuko watched Mai as he fought to suppress the sense of panic that was threatening to take over, trying to ignore the fact that by now his hand was completely drenched in her blood. Her eyes were closed. "Mai, look at me."

She didn't respond.

"Mai!"

Her brows creased into a slight frown before her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Zuko with unfocused eyes. Despite her current condition, she was relieved to see him. The fact that he was here meant that he had won. "Azula…?"

"She'll be fine," he replied simply.

As though that was the only confirmation she needed, her eyes slid shut once more.

"Mai!" He shook her ever so slightly. "You have to keep your eyes open!"

She did as he asked and was surprised how much willpower it took just to do that simple task. As she looked up at the concerned frown on his face, she almost laughed at the irony. Out of all the countless times she had imagined herself being held by him, none of it was quite like this. Was she really going to die here? "Zuko…" Her voice was barely a frail whisper. "Don't forget the things I told you…at the cave."

The prince didn't like the air of finality in the way she said those words. "Mai, if you really believe in me like you say you do, then I need you to do something for me. It's something that only you can do." His eyes glazed over in thought. "I've made some important and trustworthy friends recently…but you're the only one who's been there since the beginning. You know who I was then, who I am now…and I need you to be my witness to the end."

Mai was in disbelief. In a round about way, he was telling her she had a place in his life that couldn't be replaced by anyone else. He was saying that she was important to him. "There's Iroh," she insisted weakly, if only to confirm that she hadn't been hallucinating.

"He's family. It's not the same," he said with just a hint of a smile.

No, this wasn't anything like how she had imagined it. But in some ways, the sentiment was far better. She gave a small sigh as she closed her eyes. "You have the strangest way of asking someone…not to die…you know that?"

Zuko's frown deepened. "Mai, wake up…Mai!"

* * *

Jet stood at the top of the staircase outside the palace doors, his eyes searching the night sky for Appa. If everything went as planned at the river, Katara should be on her way to the palace by now. He could only hope that things went well, because there was no way he could get out to the river and bring her back in time to save the Fire Nation girl. 

Before long, he spotted the bison and began to wave and holler to get the waterbender's attention. "Katara!"

Upon seeing him, Katara brought Appa down to land where he was.

"Zuko needs you!" he blurted with urgency when her feet had barely even touched the floor.

Hearing that, she looked up at him with worry. "Oh, no… Is he--?"

"No, no, it's not him," Jet quickly cut in. He paced a few steps then clawed both of his hands into his hair anxiously. "Katara, I'm sorry. I didn't know that she…well…"

"Mai…" she whispered as realization hit. "Quick! Take me to her."

* * *

Jet and Katara entered the waiting chamber to find Zuko holding onto an already unconscious Mai as though his life depended on it. The blood pooling around Mai's body was not a good sign. Katara was by her side in a heartbeat, bending the water out of her water skin as she got down onto her knees. 

Zuko looked up at the waterbender, his desperation eased only slightly by her presence. "I couldn't keep her awake," he said in a tone that seemed almost like he was blaming himself.

"Lay her down," Katara said as the water began to glove around her hands. "I'll do what I can." When Zuko obliged, she placed her hands over Mai's wounds to inspect the damage.

Both boys held their breaths.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but her organs are mostly unharmed," Katara finally said. "We can still make it, but I need more water."

"I'm on it," Jet said and disappeared.

Katara continued to work with the water supply she had, noting Zuko's tension as she did. She wanted to say something but knew that no words of comfort would exactly be comforting at that moment, so she concentrated on her healing instead.

Soon after, Jet returned with a pail of water in his hands and Aang and Sokka in tow. The grim looks on their faces made it known that they had already been informed of the situation. Unable to actually help, they all gathered around in quiet support and watched as Katara worked her magic.

Eventually, the gloves dripped off of the waterbender's hands and she sat back on her heels with a tired sigh. Then she smiled. "Just let her rest, and she should be fine." Before anyone had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, Katara passed out from exhaustion, falling back into Aang's arms. The healing on top of all her previous physical exertions had finally caught up to her.

At that moment, Smellerbee and her silent partner came in. "We tied up the princess and that other girl and locked them up in the prison cells for now," the tomboy announced.

"What happened to all the guards?" Sokka suddenly asked with a cocked brow. "I've been running circles in this place and haven't seen a single Dai Li all night."

"Oh, we saw a few," Smellerbee supplied as Long Shot nodded in agreement. "But then a bunch of Earth Kingdom soldiers came and took care of them."

As if on cue, said Earth Kingdom soldiers filed into the room as well. "Actually," said the one who had spoken with Smellerbee before, obviously the team's leader, "we're Fire Nation soldiers."

Instinctively, the two Freedom Fighters jumped away from the newcomers, the tomboy with her daggers in her hands. Everyone else in the room tensed up with shock as well, unsure of what to expect.

The leader strode calmly over to Zuko and removed his helmet.

Upon recognizing the man, Zuko stood up. "Lieutenant Jee?"

Jee gave Zuko a slight bow. "It is good to see you are well, Prince Zuko. Please forgive us for being late. Per Lady Mai's instructions, we had to take out the team of Dai Li agents targeting the Avatar's earthbender and the five generals down in the prison cells first."

Zuko blinked. "Mai?" He turned to look at the unconscious girl on the floor. _So, that's what she meant when she asked me to trust her…_ He saw the shocked look in Jee's eyes as the older man finally caught sight of Mai's blood-soaked condition. "She's been healed," the prince immediately assured. Then with a slightly confused frown, he asked, "How did you end up working with Mai?"

Jee gave an understanding smile. "After surviving the siege on the Northern Water Tribe, I returned to the Fire Nation. Shortly after, I…along with quite a few others who had served you in exile…was reassigned to Omashu where I met Lady Mai."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the lieutenant, a thoughtful frown on his features. "It wasn't a coincidence, was it?" It was more a statement than a question.

Jee's smile only widened. It seemed the prince was already catching on. "No, it wasn't. Lady Mai was able to manipulate the system somehow in order to make contact with those whom she felt would join her cause. Being the daughter of a governor has its advantages, but I was still quite impressed by her resourcefulness. Afterwards, she found ways to return most of us back to the Fire Nation where we continue to recruit. Even now, our numbers are still growing."

"So you guys are like some kind of rebels?" Sokka finally interjected. Up until now, everyone had been dead silent with his or her ears opened, trying to soak up the seemingly unreal story.

The lieutenant laughed lightly. "We can hardly be considered rebels. Even though we've gathered, until today, we have never taken action. We are merely…dissatisfied idealists." He turned back to Zuko with another smile. "Idealistic fools who are ready to rise with the winds of change." Jee kneeled before his prince as the other soldiers did the same.

Just when the gang thought their mouths couldn't open any wider, their jaws gave another inch. Zuko was the only one entirely too stunned to even give a reaction. As he took in the sight before him, he honestly wasn't sure what he ever did to deserve such show of loyalty. But as he had said to his uncle, he will put forth every bit of effort from here on out to make himself worthy of that trust.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he dared to make a move. Then he reached down and tugged lightly on Jee's arm, motioning for him to rise. "Idealistic fools, huh?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else, as he mused about how well that term described himself…all of them, really. Turning his eyes back to the lieutenant, he gave a light chuckle. "Sounds like my kind of people."

* * *

_He swam tirelessly towards land until his feet touched sand. From there, he waded through the waters, swaying with the waves, the weight of his body returning to him as he lifted himself out of the ocean's grasp and began to walk along the beach…_

* * *

Zuko opened the window to let in the morning's fresh air. Leaning his elbows on the ledge, he peered out at everything and nothing in particular as he let his mind wander. It felt kind of strange to be sleeping in the exact same room as he had the last time he was in the palace, especially when his reasons for being here this time were pretty much the exact opposite from his reasons the first time around. So much had changed in such a short amount of time, it was hard not to wonder if perhaps it was all just an elaborate dream. 

He was still lost in thought when, out of nowhere, something dangled in front of his face. It was the amulet Katara wore around her neck, the one that held the sacred water from the North Pole's oasis. Zuko turned around to find the waterbender standing behind him, the amulet dangling from her hand.

"The offer's still open if you want to try it," she said with a smile.

Zuko touched the amulet with his fingers, looking at the object thoughtfully. The offer to heal his scar… "No…I think I'll pass."

Katara blinked then frowned in query.

"I used to want to forget what's happened…to run away from it, I guess," he explained in a quiet, thoughtful voice as though this was the first time he was able to acknowledge it to himself. "But now…I think I should remember." Subconsciously, his fingers reached up to lightly touch the scar on his face. "It's a part of who I am."

After a moment's pause, Katara responded with a warm smile. _He really has grown… _"I'm glad to hear it." Her smile turned into a mischievous grin. "Besides, I kinda like the scar. I'm so used to it, I think you'd look lopsided without it."

Zuko gave her the I'm-so-not-buying-it look of a skeptic, to which she only continued to grin innocently. Deciding not to dwell on the matter, he changed the subject. "How's Mai?"

Katara dropped her grin. "She still hasn't woken up, yet. But other than that, she's recovering pretty well. Azula and Ty Lee are being held in separate cells at either ends of the prison, so they won't know that Mai's not even down there with them."

Zuko nodded. "Are Sokka and Toph still guarding them personally like they insisted?" he asked with a smirk of amusement.

Katara chuckled lightly. "Yeah. And believe it or not, Sokka actually managed to take away Azula's bending, so she'll be out of commission the next few days. He got burned in several places in the process, but he's so proud of it I think we'll be hearing him brag for the next couple of weeks." She rolled her eyes at the thought of her brother. Then she perked up as an idea came to her mind. "You know, we've been so busy lately, we haven't had a rematch in a while. How about it?"

Zuko raised a brow. "What…kind of rematch?" he asked, as he leaned back ever so slightly. She was standing so close, one couldn't really blame the guy for asking.

"What do you mean--?" Her confused expression turned into a frown, her face flushing with embarrassment as she recalled her little slip that led to their kiss which he…not she…had labeled as a rematch. She immediately stepped back and punched him in the arm. "The kind that hurts, you firebending creep!"

The prince almost laughed. "Ah…that kind."

Recovering from her embarrassment, Katara folded her arms with a smirk of her own. "And if I remembered correctly, I'm in the lead by one."

Zuko mimicked her stance. "That's only if you conveniently forget the fact that I'm the one in the lead."

Katara frowned as she scanned through her memory. There was no way she could have gotten it wrong. "Are you calling me a liar?"

Zuko shrugged, clearly enjoying himself. "If that's the word you like to use."

"I'm not!" she huffed. "I vividly remember that I had won the last match."

"Yes, but I won twice in a row before that," he countered calmly.

This wasn't getting anywhere. "Fine," Katara sighed. "We'll start from scratch then." It was just one lousy point anyway.

"Fine."

With that agreement made, Katara turned to leave. Before she went out the door, she turned her head back around with her brightest smile on her face. "I'll mop the floor with you this time. Just you wait." Then she disappeared.

Zuko shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips as he turned back to the window. "Crazy waterbending peasant."

* * *

Mai opened her eyes, then squinted as she adjusted to the light. Lying there, she blinked for a few minutes as memories of recent events slowly floated back to the surface of her mind. Her hand went to her abdomen. No pain. _I didn't die._

Looking around, she found the most unexpected person asleep in a chair by her bedside. She tried to sit up but fell back down when a sudden spell of dizziness took over. Noting how her stirring had woken up her visitor, she sighed inwardly. Her attempt to walk out unnoticed had apparently failed. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse due to the dryness of her throat. "Come to finish the job?"

Jet smirked. "Attitude, huh? Guess that's a good sign you won't be dying anytime soon." He went over to the table and came back with a cup of water, holding it out to the girl. "Here. Drink this. Doctor's orders."

Taking it a bit more slowly this time, she sat up in her bed, looking at the cup in contemplation. Normally, she would have ignored his so-called doctor's orders, but she couldn't deny her thirst. Grudgingly, she took the cup and drank from it. "What do you want?" she asked with mild annoyance as she stared into her cup.

Jet leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "Geez. I come to make sure you're all right, and what do I get?" He watched to see what her reaction would be. She didn't seem amused. In fact, she didn't react at all.

He leaned forward, sitting at the edge of his chair. Swiping a hand over his face, he heaved an uncharacteristic sigh. "Two shots. Whenever you feel up to it, I'll give you two free shots at me…one for each hook."

Mai nearly dropped her cup as she turned to look at him.

The boy looked her in the eye, completely serious. "Use your throwing knives or whatever. Hit me anywhere you want. I won't defend myself."

Jet wasn't even sure why he was compelled to do this. He was well aware that his obsession with taking down the Fire Nation was the reason he kept screwing up time and time again. He disbanded the Freedom Fighters, because he had screwed up. Then he thought he'd make a fresh start in Ba Sing Se, only to screw up again the moment he found out Zuko and Iroh were firebenders. When he was practically on his deathbed after getting out of Lake Laogai, he did a lot of soul searching, recognized his flaws and realized how his reckless obsession was putting everyone around him in danger. It was why he had decided to leave his two faithful friends who still cared enough to stick by him. After all that, he really thought he had changed, but apparently he was still too impulsive when it came to the Fire Nation.

Nonetheless, whether he had changed or not, he couldn't quite comprehend why he was feeling so much guilt over what he had done. Even though the gang had eventually told him all about Mai, she was still Fire Nation. Not too long ago, he probably wouldn't have thought much about it. He might have even celebrated. So, why?

And when did he start thinking of Zuko as "Zuko" instead of just another "firebender"? He searched his memory and remembered something he had asked Katara not too long after joining the group:

"_Katara, how can you trust that guy? He's Fire Nation! The prince, no less!"_

_The waterbender tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled softly at him. "The two of you are kind of alike, you know?"_

"_What?!" Jet responded with appall._

_"Yeah," she said with a light shrug, completely unaffected by his outburst. "You've both made some mistakes, and you're both just looking for a second chance."_

Her answer was short and simple, but Jet had ultimately decided that it was also true. When put into that light, he found himself beginning to identify with the prince's struggles somewhat. Yes, that was the day Zuko became an individual in his mind. Now, Jet would even consider him a friend…although he would never admit it to anyone even under extreme torture of the worst kind.

The Freedom Fighter laughed inwardly at the thought. For him to even consider the Fire Nation prince as anything other than enemy…he really had changed. Perhaps the fact that he was regretting what he had done to Mai was a sign that he was making progress. Jet knew he was far from perfect, but for now, to know that he was at least getting somewhere was enough.

He took the empty cup from Mai's hands, went back to the table to refill it with water, and handed the cup back to the girl. "Well, take it easy. I'll let someone know you're awake." When he got to the door, Mai spoke.

"I would have done the same if I had seen an opening," she said quietly, staring into her cup again.

Jet remained where he was, but didn't turn around.

"War is war," she continued. "We all know the risks."

Though the lack of intonation made her voice difficult to read, Jet definitely caught the meaning in those words. With an unexpected smile on his face, he left the room.

* * *

"Are the binds too tight?" Zuko asked as he finished placing the metal cuffs around her wrists behind her back. He realized how stupid his question was the moment he asked. 

"It's fine," Mai replied simply.

"Are you sure you're up for this? We can put it off another day."

She allowed herself a small smile. "I've had a day to rest. I'll be fine."

Zuko nodded then walked around the girl so he could face her. "Mai," he began, still trying to figure out exactly what to say. "None of this would have been possible without you. To just say thank you seems a bit lacking, but…thank you."

Mai took a moment to study the boy standing before her. If the Avatar was the hope of the world, then Zuko was the hope of the Fire Nation. She was sure of it. There really wasn't a whole lot she wouldn't do for him. She would be his witness as he had asked, but she won't simply stand by and watch him make his mark on the world. She'd be there to support him every step of the way. "Listen, Zuko. When you make your move…we'll follow."

Zuko cast his eyes downward with another nod of his head. "Be careful."

Mai stepped closer and, standing up on her toes, she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Come home soon." Then she turned and walked out the door.

The prince placed a hand on his cheek thoughtfully. A moment later, he followed.

* * *

"Toph, I'm serious! You better get rid of it before the Earth King gets back," Sokka said for the umpteenth time as he continued to walk. 

"Why?" Toph retorted, also for the umpteenth time. "It livens up the place. I even improved it."

The Water Tribe boy slumped his shoulders and heaved an agitated sigh. "Toph…adding bear ears to the smiley on the wall _isn't_ considered improving it!"

"You have no taste, Snoozles," she said as she placed her hands behind her head, obviously not nearly as worked up as Sokka was. "Trust me. The Earth King will love it."

"I can't believe you guys are still arguing about that," Katara said from behind them with a roll of her eyes.

Aang laughed. "They've been at it since we left the palace."

"I'm rather impressed by their ability to keep it going for this long," Jet commented, voice laced with sarcasm. "Look, we're already here."

The group, along with a good number of Earth Kingdom soldiers, had now arrived at the gates of the outer city wall. The purpose of their trip was to escort the three Fire Nation girls out of the city.

Azula rubbed her wrists leisurely when her guard removed her binds, never one to lose her sense of dignity. She turned and gave the three mongoose dragons her captors had so thoughtfully provided a critical scan with her eyes. "Are you sure it's wise to let me go?" she asked almost tauntingly while still feigning interest in the animals. "We know all about the solar eclipse."

"Go home, Azula," Zuko said calmly from beside her. "Go back and tell him…I'll be coming. We'll settle everything then."

Azula glanced at her brother and smirked to herself. She had a feeling that the way he and the Avatar defeated her together would not sit well with him. Zuko's sense of honor was nothing but foolishness, and it will be his downfall. "Well then. We shall meet again at the next solar eclipse, dear brother," she said with the slightest hint of a formal bow. Then she, along with Mai and Ty Lee, mounted their mongoose dragons and began to head out.

Ty Lee turned around and waved cheerfully at her favorite Water Tribe boy. "Goodbye, Sokka! See you soon!"

In response, Sokka held up both of his hands with an obnoxious number of needles clamped between all his fingers and stuck his tongue out at her like the mature warrior that he was.

The acrobat giggled and sighed to herself. "I think he likes me!" she said excitedly to Mai. "He even learned my technique!"

Not wanting to ruin her friend's spirits…although that was a near impossible task…Mai elected to remain silent. After turning around for one final look, she followed the other two girls out of the city to begin their journey back to the Fire Nation.

"Uncle…did I do the right thing?" Zuko asked with a frown as he watched them disappear into the distance.

The old firebender stroked his beard as he gave that question some thought. "Whether it was right or wrong to let your sister go is most likely something we won't know until the end of the war. It probably wasn't the _smartest_ thing to do. However, the fact that no one here objected to your suggestion means that _all_ of you have enough confidence in yourselves to face what's to come, even if you were to lose that extra advantage. That in itself is saying a lot. The important thing is that you are doing what _you_ believe is right…not what someone else tells you is right." After a pause, he gave his nephew a warm approving smile. "You've come a long way, Zuko…and I am very proud."

Zuko smiled at the old man, somewhat embarrassed by the praise, and gave a simple nod of gratitude.

* * *

Aang and Zuko sat atop the palace walls with their legs dangling off the side, watching as the sun slowly sank below the horizon. Even though they had been sitting there for quite some time now, neither had said a word. Both were absorbed in their own thoughts and welcomed the comfortable silence. 

When Aang was done sorting through his thoughts, he spoke up. "I can't believe we're back here in Ba Sing Se," the young monk mused as he leaned back on his hands with his eyes turned up to the sky.

"I can't believe we're here together," the prince replied dryly.

Aang chuckled at the comment then grew serious again. "We've won a great victory here, but…the biggest battle is still ahead." He gave the prince a sideways glance.

"Yes," Zuko agreed with downcast eyes. Even though Aang didn't actually say the words, Zuko heard the unasked question: was he prepared to go through with it? Dethroning his own father wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to, but it was something he knew he had to do. "Aang, can I ask just one thing of you?"

The younger boy raised a brow in query.

"When the time comes for us to face the Fire Lord, I will do my part to help you win. Nonetheless…he is still my father…" Zuko trailed off with a frown on his face.

Aang remembered Zuko's reaction to his fallen sister after they had defeated her and realized what was on his mind. "Zuko, if we should win, I promise you I will not take his life," he assured. "It's not something I was planning to do in the first place. You have my word."

Zuko nodded as he felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. "That's all I need. And it's not _if_ we win…it's _when_ we win. We will not lose. You have _my_ word."

Aang smiled, also feeling a sense of relief. "Sounds like you're ready to take this head on."

Zuko gave it some thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right. For the first time in a really long time, I don't feel like I'm drowning." He turned his eyes back to the changing colors of the horizon, a thoughtful look on his features. "It's good to feel like I have my feet on solid ground again…It's good to come to shore."

_...END..._

* * *

A/N: And that's the story. Hope you liked! Yay! I finished in time! Now I can watch the premiere in peace. Ahh… 

As I had said, this is a story about Zuko finding his way, not saving the world. I had never intended for it to end with "and they defeated the Fire Lord and lived happily ever after." The way I left things here, I feel it's pretty straightforward how things would play out. They reclaimed Ba Sing Se and all its military backup, took all of Azula's resources, have Jee and a certain number of Fire Nation rebels on their side, Mai and the rest of the rebels are on the inside… So, unless I get hit with some great idea, I'm not going to pursue a sequel about how they win the war. Hope you're not disappointed… I'm more interested in maybe doing something post-war, though to be honest, I'm drawing a complete BLANK right now. Haha! Maybe I'll get more inspiration after season three…maybe…

Thanks for sticking with me to the end!

Special thanks to my reviewers! You let me know someone's paying attention and keep me motivated! Made me really happy, too!

Extra special thanks to Steamboat Ghost and Wren Sharpbeak for constantly providing me with your insights. I really appreciate it! (Cyber-hugs the both of you!!)

To my silent readers, if I can get a final overall opinion/thought from you, I will be grateful.

That's all! It's been great fun!


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